The Central Connecticut men's basketball team opens the 2018-19 season at Hartford on Tuesday night. The 7:00 p.m. tipoff between the local rivals will be streamed live on ESPN3. The Blue Devils and Hawks are opening the season against each other for the fourth straight season.
The Hawks won last year's matchup in overtime, 85-84, at Chase Arena. This will be the third meeting of a five-year agreement. Next season's meeting will return to Detrick Gymnasium, before the series concludes at Hartford in the final meeting of the deal.
Donyell Marshall and CCSU are coming off a season that saw the program post an 8-win improvement from 2016-17 to 2017-18 and their most overall wins (14) since the 2010-11 season, as well as seven non-conference wins - also their most since 2010-11.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION | Chase Arena (West Hartford, CT)
CCSU at Hartford | Tuesday, Nov. 6 | 7 PM
VIDEO (ESPN3) | LIVE STATS | @KizerBlueDevil (In-game twitter updates)
GAME NOTES
SERIES HISTORY • CCSU leads, 29-18 | First Meeting: CCSU, 82-70 (Dec. 13, 1958) | Last Meeting: Hartford, 85-84 (OT) (Nov. 10, 2017) | Last CCSU Win: 75-60 (Nov. 11, 2016) | Last Hartford Win: 85-84 (OT) (Nov. 10, 2017)
WHO'S RETURNING IN 2018-19 • Senior
Tyler Kohl was named to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference Team and led CCSU's in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last season. Senior
Deion Bute also returns after ranking second in the NEC in field goal percentage, while averaging 10.1 ppg. Juniors
Joe Hugley and
Tyson Batiste are back after both spending time in the starting five throughout the season. Hugley caught fire down the stretch last season, averaging 19.7 ppg (.552 fg%, .571 3fg%) over the final three games. Batiste played in 25 games, including six starts, and posted a 1.7 assist-turnover ratio in conference play.
THE NEW BLUE DEVILS • Head coach Donyell Marshall and the Blue Devils welcome six newcomers for the 2018-19 season. A brief look at each of them: •
Jamir Coleman (6-6, G/F): Helped South Plains to a 28-8 record and a NJCAA national championship; .465 fg pct. (.323 3fg pct.) •
Will Ellis (6-2, G): Played a postgrad year at Cheshire Academy; 14.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 5.7 apg; NEPSAC Class AA Honorable Mention •
Ian Krishnan (6-2, G): Played a postgrad year at Proctor Academy; Class AA All-NEPSAC; Ranked Top 60 player in NEPSAC •
Thai Segwai (6-2, G): Attended City of London Academy; Played a prep year at TaylorMade Academy in Florida •
Mike Underwood (6-5, G/F): District 7-5A Offensive MVP; UIL District 7-5A First Team; DFW East/West All-Star Game •
Karrington Wallace (6-7, F): Helped Archbishop Wood go 28-3 and win a 5A state title in 2017; Had 3 blocked shots in title game
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON COACHES POLL • Central was picked 6th in the preseason coaches poll at NEC Social Media Day in Brooklyn, NY, at Barclay's Center on Oct. 25. Saint Francis U was tabbed as the preseason favorite for the second straight year. Defending champion, LIU Brooklyn and Fairleigh Dickinson each got a first-place vote in the poll. Complete poll (first place votes): 1. Saint Francis U (8) 2. Fairleigh Dickinson (1) 3. LIU Brooklyn (1) 4. Wagner 5. Robert Morris
6. Central Connecticut 7. St. Francis Brooklyn
8. Bryant 9. Sacred Heart 10. Mount St. Mary's. The Preseason All-NEC Team included
Tyler Kohl, along with SFU's Keith Braxton and Jamaal King, and Raiquan Clark (LIU Brooklyn) and Mike Holloway (Fairleigh Dickinson).
UP NEXT • Following Tuesday's game, Central travels to Georgetown on Saturday as part of the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic Tournament.
