Balanced Attack Pushes Men's Basketball by St. Francis Brooklyn, 78-59

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team turned in a stifling defensive effort after halftime and had six players score in double-figures to pull away from St. Francis Brooklyn, 78-59, on Wednesday at Detrick Gymnasium. Central outscored SFC, 48-28, after halftime while holding the Terriers to just 5-of-19 (.263) shooting. The win evens CCSU's record at 2-2 in Northeast Conference play and 2-5 overall. St. Francis Brooklyn is 2-2 overall and in league play.

Central held SFC without a field goal over the final nine-plus minutes to pull away.

Juniors Ian Krishnan, Tre Mitchell and Karrington Wallace all scored 13 points for Central, while junior Nigel Scantlebury had 11 points and sophomore Xavier Wilson scored 11 points. Sophomore Greg Outlaw finished with 10 points. Wallace and sophomore Jamir Reed each grabbed seven rebounds, while Reed dished out four assists. Outlaw had two steals, while Wilson and Wallaced had two blocks each.

CCSU shot 26-of-58 (.448) from the field and was 6-of-20 (.300) from three-point range. The Blue Devils went 20-of-23 (.870) at the foul line and outrebounded the Terriers, 35-34. Central forced 16 turnovers and converted those into a 14-8 scoring advantage.

Yaradyah Evans was the only Terrier in double-figures with 10 points. He added six rebounds. SFC was 19-of-53 (.358) from the field and just 4-of-14 (.286) from three-point range. The Terriers went 17-of-24 (.708) from the foul line.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 78, St. Francis Brooklyn 59
Records: CCSU (2-5, 2-2 NEC), SFBK (2-2, 2-2 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• The teams got off to a sluggish start offensively as Central held a 5-2 lead after the opening 5:12 of action. The Terriers would score 11 straight points midway through the half to build a 21-11 lead following a putback by Elijah Hardison.
• CCSU would rally just before halftime and score the final seven points of the period. Krishnan hit a pair of foul shots and a three-pointer by Mitchell was followed by a Wallace jumper with 0:09 left in the half to make it 31-30 at the intermission.
• After a three-point play by Unique McLean made it 39-37 with 16:25 to play, the Blue Devils would hold the Terriers without a field goal for over five minutes and built a 10-point lead with 11:54 to play. A three-pointer by Krishnan gave CCSU the lead for good at 42-40 and a dunk by Wilson pushed the lead to 50-40. A three-pointer by Evans ended the SFC field goal drought with 11:03 to go.
• A layup by Chauncey Hawkins with 9:07 to play cut the CCSU lead to 60-49, but that was the Terriers' final field goal of the contest. Central would hold SFC to 0-of-6 shooting from the field down the stretch and pushed the lead to as much as 76-56 before the final score

QUOTABLE

"It's amazing after giving up 91 points and talking about how much we had to work on our defense," said head coach Donyell Marshall. "Playing the next day, it's not like we could really work on it, but coming out and giving our best defensive effort the next day shows how much pride they took in it. They knew they needed to work on it and I give the credit to them [the Blue Devils]. They came down and stuck with it and finished the game out."

NUMBER TO KNOW

37 - The CCSU bench accounted for 37 points, with Wallace, Mitchell and Scantlebury all scoring double-digits while coming on as subs during the game.

NOTES

• St. Francis leads the all-time series, 30-26, but CCSU snapped a three-game skid in the series with today's win.
• Mitchell has scored double-figures in five straight games. He is shooting 53.6 percent from the field on the year. He is averaging a team-high 13.8 points per game in conference play.
• CCSU had six players score in double-figures for the first time since Jan. 27, 2018, at LIU.
• Central dished out 18 assists and has recorded at least 16 assists in three straight games.
• The Blue Devils' bench outscored the Terriers', 37-23.
• Junior Zach Newkirk started his first game of the season and matched a career-high with four rebounds.
• Krishnan went 3-for-4 from three-point range in the second half and scored 11 of his points.
• The Blue Devils were 14-of-15 (.933) from the foul line after halftime.

UP NEXT

Central's game at Fordham scheduled for Dec. 19 has been postponed as the Rams are beginning to return to practice after a mandated 14-day quarantine period and do not have enough time to properly prepare for the game. Additional non-conference games and any schedule changes will be announced as they become available. CCSU is slated to resume Northeast Conference play on Jan. 7 at Bryant.