Men's Basketball Travels to Penn for Sunday Afternoon Contest

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team returns to action on Sunday afternoon with a 4:00 p.m. contest at Penn. The Blue Devils will be playing their first road contest of the season when they face the Quakers at The Palestra.

Central is coming off a 92-83 loss in double-overtime to Hartford on Friday. Junior Khalen Cumberlander led the way with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, while senior Brandon Peel added 15 points and 10 rebounds. CCSU forced overtime with a three-pointer by freshman Jahlil Nails with 11.1 seconds to play, but the Hawks converted eight straight foul shots down the stretch to claim the win in double-overtime.

CCSU at Penn  |  4:00 PM  |  Live Stats  |  Video (pay)

Series Notes
• Central Connecticut and Penn are meeting for the first time.
• Central has played an Ivy League school in six straight seasons dating back to 2010-11, going 2-5 in that stretch.
• The Blue Devils will also face Ivy member, Brown, on Dec. 2.
• Penn defeated NEC member, Robert Morris, 76-75 in the opener.

Cumberlander's Opening Act
• Junior Khalen Cumberlander opened the season by nearly notching a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
• The double-double was the first of Cumberlander's career and he notched career-highs in both rebounds (12) and assists (8).
• Cumberlander played a career-high 49 minutes against the Hawks in the opener.

Senior Leader
• Senior Brandon Peel is the lone senior on the Blue Devils' roster.
• Peel picked up where he left off last season, posting a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while also posted five blocked shots.
• Peel started all 31 games last season and led the team in rebounding (8.8) and had 52 blocked shots - marks which both ranked second in the Northeast Conference.
• In 90 career games (71 starts), Peel averages 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He has also posted 12 double-doubles and 23 double-digit rebounding games.

History - 1,074 Wins
• This season marks the 79th season of Central basketball.
• CCSU's first year of competition was the 1934-35 season under coach Harrison J. Kaiser, whom the athletic building is named after.
• Central carries an overall record of 1,074-868 for a .553 winning percentage.

Season Openers
• Central Connecticut is 9-11 in season openers under head coach Howie Dickenman
• CCSU dropped its opener to Hartford, 92-83, in double overtime in the Connecticut 6 Classic at Detrick Gymnasium.
• All-time in Division I the Blue Devils are 13-17 in season openers.
• The loss to Hartford was the first in a season-opener, as CCSU is now 2-1 against the Hawks to open a season.

Central Connecticut in the Northeast Conference
• CCSU has posted a 144-108 record (.571) in NEC regular season play over the last 13 seasons (19-1 in 2001-02, 12-6 in 02-03, 9-9 in 03-04, 8-10 in 04-05, 13-5 in 05-06, 16-2 in 06-07, 10-8 in 07-08, 8-10 in 08-09, 9-9 in 09-10, 11-7 in 2010-11, 10-8 in 2011-12, 9-9 in 2012-13, 7-9 in 2013-14 and 3-15 in 2014-15).
• They are 82-44 (.651) at home and 62-64 (.492) away.

Dickenman in Overtime
• Central fell to Hartford in double-overtime in the opener.
• CCSU has played 32 overtime game under head coach Howie Dickenman and have a 22-10 record in 20 seasons.
• CCSU had won five straight OT games dating to Jan. 26, 2012 (56-58, Monmouth).

Peel Again
• With 10 boards in the opener senior Brandon Peel has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 23 career games.
• Peel grabbed 10+ rebounds in 11 contest last season and ranked second in the Northeast Conference in rebounding last year. He enters the season as the top returning rebounder this year at 8.8 per game.
• Peel grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds against Robert Morris on Jan. 10, 2015. He had 11 rebounds at the break.

Double-Doubles
• Senior Brandon Peel had eight double-doubles last season and posted the 13th of his career with 15 pts and 10 reb in the opener.
• Junior Khalen Cumberlander posted the first of his career with 19 points and 12 rebounds against Hartford.

50 Points Allowed
• Central's defense allowed a season-low 47 points in a 56-47 win over Hartford last season.
• The Blue Devils went 3-0 when holding opponents to 50 or fewer points. This marked the first time since 2010-11 that CCSU had three games of allowing 50 or fewer points.
• Central has won five straight when holding opponents below 50 dating to a 48-46 loss at FDU in 2010-11.

Dickenman Milestone
• Head Coach Howie Dickenman, now in his 20th season at his alma mater, reached a pair of milestones in a win over UMBC last year.
• Dickenman became the second coach in school history to record his 275th victory, while at the same time he recorded his 150th career home victory with the win over the Retrievers.
• Dickenman trails only his former head coach Bill Detrick in career wins. Detrick won 468 games in 29 seasons.

Peel's Blocks - Fifth All-Time
• Senior Brandon Peel recorded five blocks in the opener to up his total to 136 career blocks, fifth all-time at Central Connecticut.
• Joe Efese (150) is next up for Peel on the career list.

Central and the Three-Point Shot - A New Streak Begins
• The Blue Devils had a streak of 557 games with a three-pointer stopped at Wagner on Jan. 31, 2015.
• Central had made a three in every game since February 29, 1996 at the University of Missouri-KC in a 76-69 loss, before going 0-for-6 vs. the Seahawks, marking the first time under head coach Howie Dickenman CCSU did not make a three.
• CCSU has hit a three-pointer in each of the nine games since having its streak snapped.

Up Next:
• The Blue Devils return to action on Thursday, Nov. 19, when they travel to Boston College for a 6:00 p.m. game.
• It will be the fourth all-time meeting in the series, which dates back to 1996-97.
• BC has won the previous three meetings, the last coming in the 2008-09 opener, 80-65.