Men's Basketball Takes Down First-Place FDU on the Road

Central Connecticut upended first-place FDU, 77-73, on Saturday in Northeast Conference men's basketball in Hackensack, NJ. The Blue Devils rebounded from a sluggish to put four players in double-figures and shoot better than 50 percent from the field in the second half.

Nigel Scantlebury scored all 18 of his points after halftime to lead CCSU. Jay Rodgers (17 points), Kellen Amos (15 points) and Joe Ostrowsky (12 points) also had double-figures. CCSU shot 23-of-47 (.489) from the field overall and 5-of-13 (.385) from three-point range. Central was 26-of-30 (.867) from the foul line.

FDU was led by Demetre Roberts' 21 points. The Knights shot 26-of-62 (.419) overall and 7-of-20 (.350) from the arc. FDU was 14-of-17 (.824) from the foul line.

The Blue Devils return home to host Wagner on Thursday in a game on ESPN+.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 77, FDU 73
Records: CCSU (8-19, 5-7 NEC), FDU (15-12, 8-4 NEC)
Location: Stratis Arena | Hackensack, NJ

KEY MOMENTS

• Kellen Amos would open the game with a steal and a layup to give the Blue Devils the early lead, but FDU would respond with eight unanswered points to force CCSU to take a timeout just 3:30 into the game. The Knights would extend the run to 10-0 and stretched their lead to double-digits at 15-4. FDU went ahead 23-11 following a three-point play by Sean Moore with 9:19 to go in the half.
• CCSU would recover from its sluggish start by hitting 10-of-11 shots and using a  19-4 run over a six-minute span to take its first lead of the game. A three-pointer by Jay Rodgers would tie the game at 25-25 at the 4:21 mark before a trey by Joe Ostrowsky made it 28-27 for the Blue Devils. FDU would outscore CCSU, 7-2, in the final 2:41 to regain a 34-32 lead at the intermission.
• Neither team would lead by more than four points throughout the second half. Trailing, 52-48, the Blue Devils would score four straight to tie the game and then take the lead on a three-pointer by Ostrowsky with 10:13 remaining.
• Scantlebury would score four straight and put CCSU ahead 66-64 before the Knights responded with four unanswered to go ahead by a basket with 3:12 to play. Amos would hit five straight foul shots and the Blue Devils would outscore FDU, 11-5, in the final 2:05. Ostrowsky would hit a pair of foul shots to seal the 77-73 win.

QUOTABLE

"Our defense definitely set the tempo of the game," said head coach Patrick Sellers. "Jayden Brown was huge on that end with four huge blocks and some timely rebounds. We did an excellent job of executing down the stretch and our guys stepped up and made big free throws."

NUMBER TO KNOW

22 – CCSU went 22-of-24 from the foul line in the second half, while FDU was 12-of-14.

NOTES

• FDU leads the all-time series, 30-24, but the teams have split the season series in each of the last six campaigns.
• Scantlebury was 4-of-9 from the field, and 8-for-8 at the foul line, in the second half.
• Amos would score 10 of his points in the second half and finished the game 9-of-11 at the foul line.
• Rodgers had 13 points in the opening period.
• Ostrowsky finished the game 4-of-4 from the field, 2-of-2 from the arc, and 4-of-4 at the foul line.
• Jayden Brown had career highs with four blocks and three assists. He did not have a turnover and added five points and five rebounds.
• Andre Snoddy grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. He has 36 career games with at least seven rebounds.
• CCSU won for the first time this season when trailing with 5:00 to play, improving to 1-17 in such games. The Blue Devils also improved to 1-11 in games decided by eight points or fewer on the season.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils return home to host Wagner on Thursday in a game on ESPN+.