Men's Hoop Falls on the Road at Brown
Blue Devils return home on Wednesday night vs. UNH
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team dropped to 1-5 overall on the season with a 72-61 loss on the road at Brown on Saturday afternoon. Junior Faronte Drakeford led the offense with a career-high 22 points while adding six rebounds.
Junior Kyle Vinales added 13 points, all coming in the second half. Sophomore Brandon Peel added nine points and a season-high 12 rebounds in the loss.
To open the game Central led 8-7 but a 9-2 Brown run made it 16-10 with 11:21 in first half. A quick 7-0 run for CCSU gave them 17-16 lead but the Bears answered and took a 25-20 lead after the Blue Devils went cold from the field. Central answered, this time with an 11-0 run, to retake the lead 31-25 lead late in the first half. Brown scored the final basket of the first half to cut the lead to 31-27 at halftime.
Drakeford had 12 at the break to lead the Blue Devils. Peel added seven and had six rebounds. Neither team shot well in the first half, Central was 13-of-32 while Brown hit 12-of-31.
To open the second hald the Bears took a 41-39 lead with a 14-8 spurt before a bucket from Vinales tied the score 41-41. Brown responded with six straight points to build its lead to 47-41 with 13:30 left in the second half. The run reached 14-2 and the lead was 55-43 for the Bears before Central answered.
A 7-0 run for the Blue Devils cut the lead to 57-52. Vinales had his first three of the game during the run. Drakeford's 20th point made it 59-54 with 8:20 to play, but the Bears answered with another mini-run, pushing the lead to 67-56 with a quick 8-2 spurt with under five minutes to play.
Central would get no closer than eight the rest of the way, falling to 1-5 overall on the season. The Bears are now 5-2.
Drakeford's career-high led all CCSU scorers. Vinales added 13 points and Peel added his nine points and 12 rebounds.
The Blue Devils will return to action on Wednesday night at home hosting New Hampshire beginning at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game for free by logging on to www.NECFrontRow.com, or can listen on Fox Sports Radio 1410, ESPN Radio 1300 or online at www.iHeartRadio.com.
