Men's Basketball Has Late Charge Fall Short at Sacred Heart
The Central Connecticut men's basketball came up short at Sacred Heart, 74-66, on Monday night in Northeast Conference action at the Pitt Center. The Blue Devils trimmed a 25-point deficit to just six in the final minute before running out of time.
Junior Nigel Scantlebury led CCSU with 17 points and scored nine in the final 2:32 of the game. He added four assists and two steals. Junior Ian Krishnan and freshman Trenton McLaughlin each added 13 points. Central shot 25-of-59 (.424) overall and went 10-of-28 (.357) on three-pointers. The Blue Devils shot 6-of-8 (.750) at the foul line.
Tyler Thomas had 21 points to pace the Pioneers. SHU shot 25-of-54 (.463) overall and 11-of-26 (.423) from three-point range. Sacred Heart was 13-of-18 (.722) at the foul stripe.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 66, SHU 74
Records: CCSU (4-14, 2-4 NEC), Sacred Heart (7-10, 3-3 NEC)
Location: Pitt Center | Fairfield, CT
KEY MOMENTS
- Junior Tre Mitchell tied the game at 12-12 midway through the opening half in a back-and-forth start to the game The Pioneers would respond by holding the Blue Devils scoreless over a three-minute span and scored six unanswered points. SHU would extend its run to 12-1 to build a double-digit lead. CCSU would manage to trim the deficit to 31-22 at the intermission.
- Sacred Heart would hit back-to-back three-pointers to open the second half and extend its lead to 37-24. Following a three-pointer by freshman Trenton McLaughlin, the Pioneers reeled off nine straight points and would build 25-point cushion following a 19-4 run midway through the second half.
- CCSU would reel off a series of quick spurts late in the game to keep the contest competitive, getting within 66-56 with 1:59 to play after back-to-back three-pointers from Scantlebury and McLaughlin. Another three-pointer by Scantlebury with 10 seconds to play would make it a six-point game before the Pioneers closed the game out with a layup for the final margin.
NUMBER TO KNOW
10 - Central matched a single-game season high with 10 three-pointers.
NOTES
- CCSU leads the all-time series, 23-13, but has dropped the past 13 meetings. The Blue Devils were credited with a win in the Jan. 6 meeting per the NEC COVID-19 protocols.
- McLaughlin matched a career-high in scoring. He added a personal-best six rebounds, while shooting 3-of-5 on three-pointers. In his last eight games he has shot 13-of-22 (.591) from the arc.
- Krishnan now has 952 career points and 176 career three-pointers, which ranks third and second among active NEC players, respectively. He ranks 8th on the CCSU career three-pointer chart.
- Freshman Andre Snoddy grabbed six rebounds. He has at least five rebounds in eight straight contests.
UP NEXT
The Blue Devils play at Saint Francis U on Friday night. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
