Men's Basketball Falls to Merrimack on Last-Second Three on Thursday

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team fell in the final seconds to Merrimack, 64-61, in Northeast Conference action on Thursday night at Detrick Gymnasium. The Blue Devils tied the game with 43 seconds to play, but the Warriors hit the game-winning shut with two seconds left.

Jayden Brown came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points to lead all scorers, while Andre Snoddy had his third straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. CCSU shot 26-of-54 (.481) from the field overall and 3-of-10 (.300) from three-point range. Central was 6-of-9 (.667) from the foul line.

Devon Savage led four Warriors in double-figures with 17 points. Merrimack shot 24-of-54 (.444) overall and 8-of-21 (.381) from the arc. The Warriors were 8-of-11 (.727) from the foul line.

The Blue Devils host Saint Francis U on Saturday afternoon.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 61, Merrimack 64
Records: CCSU (5-17, 3-5 NEC), MER (7-15, 5-3 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• Merrimack opened the game with six straight points and forced a CCSU timeout just 2:07 into the contest. The Blue Devils would recover with seven straight points to take their first lead on a Snoddy dunk.
• The game was tied at 17-17 with 8:23 to go in the opening period after Brown hit a jumper. The Warriors would score seven consecutive points, capped off by back-to-back hoops by Savage to take the largest lead of the period at 24-17.
• Merrimack would maintain its lead until Snoddy scored five straight points and tied the game at 30-30 following a three-point play. Following two Merrimack foul shots, Brown hit a leaning jumper as the shot clock expired just before halftime to tie the game 32-32 at the break.
• Neither team led by more than four points until Merrimack used an 11-2 run to break a 48-48. A layup by Jordan Minor with 5:04 to play would give Merrimack its largest lead at 59-50.
• Central would outscore the Warriors, 11-2, over a span of 4:21 to tie the game. Nigel Scantlebury hit a three-pointer with 1:36 to play to make it a one-possession game. On the next possession, Scantlebury found a cutting Amos for a dunk to tie it 61-61 with 0:43 to play.
• Merrimack would miss a one-and-one foul shot that CCSU rebounded. The Blue Devils would lose the ball with 0:20 left to give the Warriors another chance. With 0:02 to play, Minor found Javon Bennett in the corner for the game-winning three-pointer.

QUOTABLE

"All year we've lost games in the final five minutes," said head coach Patrick Sellers. "Tonight, we called a timeout and Andre [Snoddy] kind of galvanized us in the huddle, and then we tied the game. I was thinking we have a chance to win here…but it hurts because this is something we work on, we watch film on and we want to see these guys get rewarded for their hardwork."

NUMBER TO KNOW

48.1 – CCSU had the best shooting night for a Merrimack opponent in NEC play. The Warriors had only allowed one other NEC team to shoot better than 45 percent in a game thus far. Wagener shot 47.9 percent on Jan. 16.

NOTES

• Central leads the all-time series, 14-10, but has lost two of the last three matchups.
• Brown finished the game shooting 8-of-11 from the floor and added three rebounds, two blocks and an assist.
• The teams each finished with 31 rebounds, but Merrimack had a 13-6 edge in second chance scoring.
• Jay Rodgers dished out a career-high eight assists, without a turnover, in 31 minutes. He added eight points and two steals.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils host Saint Francis U on Saturday afternoon.