Men's Basketball Holds Off Merrimack for 60-57 Win

February 10, 2022

The Central Connecticut men's basketball held off a late Merrimack rally to win, 60-57, on Thursday in Northeast Conference men's basketball action at Hammel Court on Thursday. The Blue Devils built a 14-point lead with 10:19 remaining before the Warriors scored eight straight points and would outscore CCSU 20-9 down the stretch before falling short.

CCSU had four players score in double-figures, led by freshman Trenton McLaughlin who had a career-high 14 points. Junior Nigel Scantlebury and freshman Andre Snoddy added 12 points each, while junior Tre Mitchell added 10 points. Central shot 21-of-49 (.429) overall and was 9-of-18 (.500) on three-pointers. The Blue Devils went 9-of-14 (.643) at the foul line.

Jordan Minor paced Merrimack with 26 points and 11 rebounds. The Warriors shot (22-of-51 (.431) overall and 5-of-21 (.238) from three-point range. Merrimack was 8-of-12 (.667) from the foul line.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 60, Merrimack 57
Records: CCSU (7-18, 5-8 NEC), MC (9-15, 5-7 NEC)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, MA

KEY MOMENTS

The Blue Devils would run off eight straight points just past the midway point in the opening period to build a six point lead. Freshman Trenton McLaughlin and junior Nigel Scantlebury would hit back-to-back three-pointers to go ahead 18-12. Three-point shooting fueled CCSU's fast start, opening the game 4-of-9 from the arc, while the Warriors were just 1-of-12 to begin the contest.
Merrimack would close out the period by hitting 5-of-7 from the floor to take a 28-27 lead into the intermission. Jordan Minor was the catalyst for the Warriors as he accounted for 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the opening half.
Central would hit 3-of-5 to open the second half, while ripping off a a 19-4 run to build a double-figure lead. Three-pointers by junior Ian Krishnan and Scantlebury opened a spurt of 13 unanswered points, while a jumper from McLaughlin made it 48-35 with just under 13 minutes to go. The Blue Devils' defense held Merrimack scoreless for over five minutes to grab control of the game. After a Merrimack bucket, McLaughlin hit another trifecta to give CCSU a 14-point lead.
The Warriors would respond with a 8-0 spurt to get within eight. A four-point play by Mykel Derring with 8:01 remaining would make it 51-43. Minor would convert inside to make it a two-possession game with 6:41 to play and the Warriors would eventually get within 56-52, but the teams would both go scoreless for almost nearly four minutes. Scantlebury would end the scoreless drought with a pair of foul shots with 1:06 remaining to momentarily push the CCSU lead back to 58-52. Merrimack would pull within three-points with 5.8 seconds to play and set up a final possession but the final shot to tie would miss the mark.

NUMBER TO KNOW

5 - The Blue Devils held Merrimack to 5-of-21 shooting from three-point range. It was the fewest three-pointers allowed by CCSU in a conference game this season.

NOTES

CCSU leads the all-time series, 14-9, and ended a five-game slide in the series. With the win Central moved up to sixth in the NEC standings and moves them into a tie in the win column with Merrimack.
McLaughlin hit 4-of-6 three-pointers in the game, and did all of his damage in 18 minutes off the bench.
Scantlebury added a career-high eight assists.
Mitchell, senior Stephane Ayangma and freshman Jayden Brown each had six rebounds. CCSU outrebounded Merrimack, 34-27, in the game.
Central held an opponent to below 60 points for the fourth time this season, which matches its most occurences in a season since 2016-17.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils will host St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.