Basketball Held Off, 74-70, at Quinnipiac

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team nearly erased a double-figure deficit before falling at Quinnipiac, 74-70, on Friday at the M&T Bank Arena. The Blue Devils were within two points in the final minute and had a chance to tie, but were unable to draw even and the Bobcats iced the game at the foul line.

Allan Jeanne-Rose scored 18 points to lead three Blue Devils in double-figures. Kellen Amos and Jordan Jones added 17 and 13 points, respectively. CCSU shot 29-of-59 (.492) overall, while going 5-of-17 (.294) from three-point range. Central was 7-of-14 (.500) at the foul line.

Matt Balanc scored a game-high 22 points to pace Quinnipiac, while Richie Springs had 13 points and 10 rebounds. QU shot 29-of-60 (.483) overall and 10-of-23 (.435) from three-point range. The Bobcats shot 6-of-10 (.600) at the foul line.

The Blue Devils host Framingham State for their home-opener on Monday night.

GAME INFORMATION

Score:  CCSU 70, Quinnipiac 74
Records: CCSU (0-2), QU (2-0)
Location: M&T Bank Arena | Hamden, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• Central would score seven straight points to build a 16-11 lead, its largest of the game. Jones opened the spurt with a driving layup before closing the spurt out with a pull up jumper at the 12:33 mark.
• Quinnipiac would hold CCSU scoreless for over five-and-a-half minutes during a 13-0 run to take the lead. After Jones' jumper, CCSU would be held scoreless until a dunk by Allan Jeanne-Rose with 6:55 to go in the half that got Central within, 24-18.
• A jumper by Amos would get CCSU within, 35-29, but the Bobcats would score a pair of baskets in the final 34 seconds of the opening half to take a 10-point lead into the intermission.
• QU led by at least seven points throughout the second half until scoring six straight points to build its largest lead of the game at 66-52 with 9:36 remaining.
• The Blue Devils trailed 68-54 with 8:48 to play, before a layup by Abdul Momoh opened a 10-0 run. Amos had four points in the spurt, while the run was capped following a steal by Jones who fed Jayden Brown for a jumper to make it 68-64 with 5:15 to play.
• Central would make it a one-possession game with 1:37 left after a layup by Jeanne-Rose. The teams would trade baskets on the next two possessions, before CCSU was within 72-70 and rebounded a Quinnipiac miss with 33 seconds left. The Blue Devils had a shot on the next possession, but their shot missed with 0:18 to play and Quinnipiac would hit a pair of foul shots to finish the game.

NUMBER TO KNOW

5 – Central's largest lead of the game, matched its largest lead from the opener at URI.

NOTES

• The teams have met in each of the last three seasons. CCSU leads the all-time series, 47-25, but has not defeated Quinnipiac since Feb. 25, 2013.
• Jeanne-Rose has opened the season shooting 16-of-21 (.762) overall from the field.
• Joe Ostrowsky matched a career-high with eight rebounds. He added five points, five assists (without a turnover), two steals and a blocked shot in 34 minutes.
• Central held a 42-32 advantage on points in the paint.
• The Blue Devils forced 18 turnovers, while committing just 10.
• CCSU has lost four straight road games dating back to Feb. 11, 2023.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils host Framingham State for their home-opener on Monday night.

Follow @CCSUBlueDevils on Twitter and CCSUBlueDevils.com for updates.