Men's Basketball Storms by Saint Francis U, 85-77

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team turned in one of its best all-around games of the season in an 85-77 win at Saint Francis U on Sunday at Northeast Conference action at DeGol Arena. The geame was another close contest over the first 30 minutes before the Blue Devils began to push ahead and build a double-digit lead. CCSU took the lead for good with 14:41 to play to earn the split of the weekend series.

Central improved 4-10 overall and 4-7 in the Northeast Conference, while Saint Francis U is now 5-10 overall and 4-7 in the NEC.

Central took the lead midway through the second half and would eventually push its lead to double-digits. The Blue Devils .

Sophomore Myles Baker matched a career-high with 24 points and junior Tre Mitchell matched a personal-best with 19 points. The Blue Devils shot 30-of-57 (.526) from the field and 12-of-25 (.480) from three-point range. Central was 13-of-17 (.765) from the free throw line. The Blue Devils outrebounded the Red Flash, 29-26.

Maxwell Land led five players in double-figures for the Red Flash with 16 points. SFU shot 27-of-52 (.519) from the floor and 11-of-24 (.458) from three-point range. SFU was 12-of-15 (.800) from the foul line.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU  85, Saint Francis U 77
Records: CCSU (4-10, 4-7 NEC), SFU (5-10, 4-7 NEC)
Location: DeGol Arena | Loretto, PA

KEY MOMENTS

• Central would score the first four points of the game before the Red Flash responded with nine straight points in a span of 2:30. Central would regain the lead midway through the half after rattling off eight unanswered points. An alley-oop from junior Nigel Scantlebury to senior Stephane Ayangma was followed by a three-pointer from junior Tre Mitchell to make it 22-18.
• The Blue Devils opened the game, 3-for-5 from three-point range before going through a 1-for-7 stretch and being held scoreless for 3:14. The Red Flash would manage to build a narrow lead in that time and led 33-29 with 1:31 to go in the period. Central closed the period with a 5-0 run on a layup by sophomore Myles Baker and a three-pointer by Scantlebury just before the horn to make it 34-33 at the intermission.
• Central would begin to take control of the game after a 13-3 run in the second half. A trio of three-pointers in succession from Baker, Reed and Mitchell would make it 54-47 with 12:39 to play. A three-pointer by Mitchell and two foul shots from Baker would push the CCSU lead to 69-59.
• The Red Flash would get with five points, but CCSU would push the lead to 12 with six straight points from Mitchell. He hit a three-pointer and then completed a three-point play to make it 78-66 with 3:11 to play.

QUOTABLE

"Today was a really good sign that it was 'we' over 'me'," said CCSU head coach Donyell Marshall. "Everybody did a good job of making sure there was excitement in the gym for us. I think you could see it in the assists for us."

NUMBER TO KNOW

60 - Central got 60 points from reserves, a season-high.

NOTES

• Saint Francis leads the all-time series, 24-23, but CCSU ended a six-game skid with Sunday's win.
• Baker matched a career-highand was 8-of-11 from the field, 4-of-7 from three-point range.
• Mitchell matched a career-best in scoring. He shot 7-of-10 from the field and was 4-of-6 from three-point range. It was hist first double-digit outing since Dec. 16 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn.
• Reed finished with six rebounds and has grabbed at least five rebounds in seven of the last eight games. He also had a team-high six assists, against just one turnover.
• Ayangma had a team-high seven rebounds along with two blocked shots.
• The CCSU bench accounted for 23 points in the first half and a season-high 60 points from reserves for the game. Central's reserves contribute 30.6 points per game.
• Central shot 18-of-30 (.600 in the second half on Sunday and were 13-of-26 (.500) in Saturday's game. The Blue Devils shot a combined 55.4 percent from the field in the second half in both games.

UP NEXT

Central returns home to host Sacred Heart on Thursday, Feb. 4. Tip off is slated for 7:00 p.m. The game streams live and for free on NECFrontRow.com.