Men's Basketball Holds Off Merrimack to Stay Perfect in NEC Play
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team topped Merrimack, 75-70, in a matchup of unbeaten Northeast Conference squads on Monday in New Britain, CT. The Blue Devils led by as many as 18 in the second half, but held off a charge by the Warriors to stay perfect in league play at 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12.
Allan Jeanne-Rose led all scorers with 24 points, while Jayden Brown added 15 points and Kellen Amos had 12 points. CCSU shot 29-of-61 (.475) overall and was 3-of-10 (.300) from three-point range. Central was 14-of-15 (.933) at the foul line.
The Warriors were led by Jordan Derkack with 16 points. Merrimack shot 29-of-60 (.433) overall and 5-of-19 (.263) on three-pointers. MC was 13-of-18 (.722) at the foul line.
The Blue Devils host Le Moyne on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE
Score: CCSU 75, Merrimack 70
Records: CCSU (9-7, 3-0 NEC), MC (9-9, 3-1 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT
KEY MOMENTS
- CCSU raced out to a 7-2 lead in the opening two minutes. Allan Jeanne-Rose had a pair of buckets and Tre Breland put together a three-point play. The Warriors would cut the deficit to 10-7 before dunks by Allan Jeanne-Rose bookended a layup by Jayden Brown to make it 16-7 with 13:52 left in the half.
- Central led 20-16 at the 8:25 mark of the period after a dunk by MC's Bryan Etumnu. CCSU would respond with eight unanswered points to take the first double-digit lead of the game. After a three-point play by Kellen Amos, Joe Ostrowsky made a three-pointer to push the lead to 12 at the 7:19 mark.
- Merrimack would trim a 12-point deficit to just six with under a minute to play in the opening half. Jordan Derkack would score five straight before a Devon Savage three-pointer made it 34-28 with 59 seconds left in the period. A pair of foul shots by Jayden Brown made it 36-28 at the intermission.
- CCSU led by as much as 58-40 with 10:37 left the second half. The Warriors would outscore the Blue Devils in a two-minute span to trim the deficit to single digits. Two foul shots by Derkack and another free throw by Adam Clark made it 61-53 with 7:23 to play. A layup by Clark would make it a six-point game with 6:40 left.
- The Warriors trailed by 71-64 with under a minute to play, but two foul shots by Derkack with 0:35 to play was followed by a CCSU turnover that led to a layup by Clark to make it a one-possession game with 18 seconds left. Jeanne-Rose would convert four straight at the foul line to help seal up the win.
NUMBER TO KNOW
0 – Central led the game wire-to-wire and never trailed.
NOTES
- CCSU leads the all-time series, 15-11.
- Jeanne-Rose has scored at least 20 points in all three conference games.
- Brown shot 5-of-9 from the field and added four rebounds and two blocked shots.
- Amos chipped in four assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
- Jordan Jones had eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.
- Tre Breland finished with nine points, four steals and two blocks.
- Abdul Momoh grabbed seven rebounds in 10 minutes.
UP NEXT
The Blue Devils host Le Moyne on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
Follow @CCSUBlueDevils on Twitter and CCSUBlueDevils.com for updates.