Men's Hoop Wins Second Straight, Tops UMBC
Blue Devils are off until Dec. 20 when they host NJIT
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team improved to 2-7 overall on the season with a 65-53 win over UMBC on Wednesday night in the home opener for the Blue Devils. Central, who topped Hartford on the road last Saturday night, has now won two straight games with the home victory on Wednesday.
Junior Brandon Peel posted his second straight double-double and his third of the season to lead the Blue Devils. He had 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead Central. Four Blue Devils scored in double figures including Peel, senior Faronte Drakeford and sophomore Matt Mobley who all had 16 points. Sophomore Khalen Cumberlander added 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
The game was tied 28-28 at the half after the Blue Devils struggled from the field, shooting 12-of-28, just 42.9 percent. Mobley had a pair of threes before halftime and had 10 at the break. He finished the game shooting 6-of-11 from the field and hit 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
In the second half the Blue Devils shot better, hitting 11-of-22 from the field and 3-of-8 from three. They iced the game at the free-throw in the second half, hitting 12-of-13 including 8-of-9 in the final two minutes.
Peel's double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds followed his 16 points and 16 rebound effort in the win over Hartford on Saturday night. The junior is now averaging 9.4 rebounds per game on the season. He has four games with 10 or more rebounds and six with at least nine.
Central had 13 assists and just 12 turnovers in the game, the third time this season they have posted more assists than turnovers in a game. Freshman Kevin Seymour had four, as did Mobley. The four assists for Mobley was a season-high and the fifth time in his career he has posted at least four in a game. Seymour now has 13 assists and just three turnovers in his last four games, all starts.
Peel was 7-of-11 from the field and hit both free-throws on his way to 16 points, just two off of his career-high. Drakeford was 5-of-10 from the field and hit 6-of-8 from the line, including 6-of-6 in the second half.
The Blue Devils are now off for 10 days before hosting NJIT on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. They will follow up that game with an afternoon game vs. Brown on Monday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m.