Scantlebury's Three Gives Men's Basketball 65-64 Win Over Mount

Junior Nigel Scantlebury hit a three-pointer with four seconds remaining to give the Central Connecticut men's basketball team a 65-64 win over Mount St. Mary's on Friday at Detrick Gymnasium. CCSU led by as many as nine points in the second half before MSM built a six-point lead with 2:31 to play. The Blue Devils would rally, outscoring the Mountaineers, 10-3, the rest of the way, capped off by Scantlebury's three-pointer for the win.

Central improves to 3-9 overall and 3-6 in NEC play, while MSM goes to 5-6 overall and 4-3 in the league.

The Blue Devils led 51-42 midway through the second half before Mount St. Mary's held CCSU to four points over a nearly 10-minute stretch. MSM would build a six-point lead with 2:31 remaining before the Blue Devils rallied.

Junior Ian Krishnan had 13 points and sophomore Greg Outlaw added 12 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Jamir Reed added a team-high eight rebounds with seven points, while senior Stephane Ayangma added eight points and six rebounds off the bench. Scantlebury had seven points and four assists.

CCSU shot 24-of-54 (.444) from the field and was 8-of-22 (.364) from three-point range. The Blue Devils went 9-of-13 (.692) from the foul line. The Blue Devils' bench outscored Mount's, 25-7.

Damian Chong Qui led Mount St. Mary's with a career-high 30 points. Malik Jefferson added 14 points and 11 rebounds. MSM shot 24-of-55 (.436) overall and 7-of-21 (.333) from three-point range. The Mountaineers went 9-of-16 (.563) from the free throw line.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 65, Mount St. Mary's 64
Records: CCSU (3-9, 3-6 NEC), MSM (5-6, 4-3 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• The Blue Devils followed its gameplan from Thursday and pressed the Mount in the early going. The teams played an even game through the opening 10 minutes before CCSU took its largest lead at 24-21 following a three-pointer by junior Ian Krishnan.
• In a back-and-forth opening period, the Mount would score the final four points of the half to take a lead at the intermission. Malik Jefferson tied it 29-29 following a dunk and a layup by Nana Opoku gave MSM a 31-29 lead heading into the intermission following a layup with 20 seconds left.
• The Blue Devils would take its largest lead of the day with an 13-1 spurt in the second half. A three-pointer by junior Tre Mitchell was followed by a layup by Krishnan and a trifecta by senior Stephane Ayangma to make it 49-42 with 12:35 to play. A steal and two foul shots from sophomore Greg Outlaw pushed the lead to nine points.
• Central would endure a five-minute stretch without a field goal and the Mountaineers clawed back into the game. A 10-0 run capped by two foul shots from Damian Chong Qui gave Mount a 52-51 lead before a jumper by Outlaw ended the spurt. The Mountaineers would outscore CCSU, 19-4, over a 9:50 stretch to build a six-point lead. Chong Qui scored five straight points including a three-pointer to make it 61-55 with 2:31 to go.
• CCSU responded with seven straight points to take a one-point lead with under a minute to play. A three-pointer by Krishnan was followed by two foul shots from junior Karrington Wallace. A jumper by junior Nigel Scantlebury put CCSU ahead 62-61 with 52 seconds to play. 
• Chong Qui hit a three to put MSM ahead by one before Scantlebury hit a step-back three-pointer with 4.0 seconds to play to give Central a 65-64 lead. CCSU prevented Mount from getting off a final shot to seal the victory.

NUMBER TO KNOW

18 - CCSU had 18 second chance points. Wallace's offensive rebound led to Scantlebury's game-winning three-pointer.

NOTES

• Mount leads the all-time series, 24-23, but Central ended a three-game slide in the series with Friday's win.
• Krishnan has scored in double-figures in consecutive games and three out of the last four games.
• Outlaw bounced back from a season-low two points to post his eighth double-digit scoring game.
• Reed has grabbed at least five rebounds in five of the last six games. He has at least seven boards in each of the last three games.
• The Blue Devils committed a season-low nine turnovers.
• The CCSU bench accounted for 25 points. CCSU reserves are contributing 28.4 points per game.
• Central collected its first win of the season when trailing with 5:00 to play and won for the second time when trailing at halftime.
• CCSU had a one-point win for the first time since Feb. 18, 2020. (76-75 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson)

UP NEXT

Central will travel to Saint Francis U for contests on Jan. 30 and 31.