Men's Basketball Overpowered at St. John's in Second Half on Tuesday

The Central Connecticut men's basketball was overpowered by St. John's down the stretch, falling by a 91-74 score on Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, NY. The Blue Devils trailed by just four points at halftime and it was a one-possession game early in the second half before the Red Storm took advantage of their size to take control of the game and pull away.

Nigel Scantlebury and Kellen Amos led the Central Connecticut offense with 16 and 14 points, respectively. CCSU shot 29-of-57 (.509) from the field and 10-of-27 (.370) from three-point range. CCSU was just 6-of-9 (.667) at the foul line.

AJ Storr paced a quartet of Red Storm in double-figures with 16 points. SJU shot 238-of-69 (.551) overall from the field and was 8-of-22 (.364) from three-point range. St. John's went 7-of-12 (.583) from the foul line. The Red Storm took advantage of their size, outrebounding CCSU, 37-25, and scoring 52 points in the paint

The Blue Devils will travel to Baltimore, MD, for a pair of games this weekend at UMBC. CCSU will face Lafayette on Saturday and then play the Retrievers on Sunday.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 74, St. John's 91
Records: CCSU (0-3), SJU (3-0)
Location: Carnesecca Arena  | Queens, NY

KEY MOMENTS

• Central got off to a fast start, taking a seven-point lead just five minutes into the game. Andre Snoddy and Kellen Amos hit back-to-back three-pointers and Abdul Momoh added a layup before Snoddy capped a 10-3 spurt to put CCSU ahead 16-9 at the 15:23 mark.
• The Red Storm would hold Central scoreless during a 9-0 run over 2:21 to take their first lead of the game at 19-18 following a Posh Alexander layup at 12:34. St. John's would push its lead to four points to close out a stretch of outscoring CCSU, 13-2 over an almost five-minute stretch before a layup by Davonte Sweatman midway through the half.
• Joe Ostrowsky would lay off a nice behind-the-back pass to Jayden Brown for a dunk before CCSU would take one last lead following a Nigel Scantlebury three-pointer made it 35-34 with 1:48 to go in the first half. SJU would outscore the visitors, 6-1, the rest of the way and took a 40-36 lead into the lockerrooms.
• The Blue Devils would make it a one-possession game following a Jay Rodgers jumper with 16:06 remaining to make it 47-45. St. John's would respond with 11 unanswered points in a quick four-minute span to begin to pull away.
• SJU would lead by as much as 81-57 with 5:33 remaining but the Blue Devils would close the game going 5-of-5 from the floor and making a foul shot to settle the final score.

QUOTABLE

"Tonight was another game where I felt we competed very hard and showed grit and toughness," said head coach Patrick Sellers. "We had a five-minute stretch in the second half where we had some defensive lapses. If we can shore up our defense, it will give us a chance to win."

NUMBER TO KNOW

10 – Central connected on a season-high 10 three-pointers in the game. CCSU entered the contest averaging a conference-best 8.5 three-pointers per game.

NOTES

• The teams were meeting for the fourth time, and the first since Nov. 9, 2019. The Red Storm have won all four meetings at home all-time.
• Scantlebury scored 16 points for the second straight game. He shot 7-of-13 from the field and made a pair of three-pointers, while adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 36 minutes.
• Amos has scored in double-figures in each game so far this season. He was 5-of-11 from the field and hit three three-pointers. He grabbed a team-high six rebounds to go with three assists and a steal.
• Momoh finished with a career-high nine points, with four rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal.

UP NEXT

 The Blue Devils will travel to Baltimore, MD, this weekend and play Lafayette on Saturday before facing UMBC on Sunday.