Men's Basketball Opens Season at Rhode Island
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team tips off the 2023-24 campaign at Rhode Island on Monday night. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff and will be carried on ESPN+. The meeting will be the third all-time between the schools and the first since 2008.
CCSU GAME NOTES | LIVESTATS | WATCH | AUDIO
Central opens the 2023-24 season at Rhode Island, the first of three A10 opponents they will face in the non-conference season. Head coach Patrick Sellers begins his 3rd season at the helm of his alma mater. The Blue Devils return three starters from last season, led by Kellen Amos who is the second-highest returning scorer in the Northeast Conference (14.1 ppg).
OPENING NOTES
• Central opens the 2023-24 season at Rhode Island, the first of three A10 opponents they will face in the non-conference season.
• Head coach Patrick Sellers begins his 3rd season at the helm of his alma mater.
• The Blue Devils return three starters from last season, led by Kellen Amos who is the second-highest returning scorer in the Northeast Conference (14.1 ppg).
• CCSU will play at Quinnipiac on Nov. 10 before its home opener on Nov. 13 against Framingham State.
WITH A CCSU WIN ...
• Central would win its season-opener for the first time since Nov. 6, 2018 (75-68, at Hartford), which is also the last time CCSU won a season-opener on the road.
• The Blue Devils would defeat URI for the first time in three series meetings.
• CCSU would down an A10 opponent for the first time since Nov. 18, 2012 (81-74, La Salle)
NOTABLES
• Patrick Sellers is one of 50 head coaches nationally to currently be head coach at their alma mater. Sellers played at CCSU from 1987-91.
• Sellers played for the Blue Devils from 1987-91 and was team captain (1991) and ECC Defensive Player of the Year (1991) in his career.
• NEC coaches; Sellers, Joe Gallo (Merrimack), Chris Kraus (Stonehill), Rob Krimmel (SFU) and Nate Champion (Le Moyne) lead their alma mater.
• 242 straight games with a three-pointer. The last game CCSU had without a made 3-pointer: Jan. 31, 2015 at Wagner (0-for-6).
• Central has posted 2 of its top 10 single-season three-point totals in the first two seasons under coach Sellers, including 204 in 2022-23.
• At Wagner on Jan. 20, 2023, Central had one three-pointer for the first time since going 1-for-8 on Jan. 7, 2017 vs. Mount St. Mary's.
• Kellen Amos is the second-highest returning scorer in the NEC (14.1 ppg). He started all 32 games and scored 20+ points in 7 games
• Had a career-high 36 points against SFBK on Dec. 31, going 6-6 on 3fg. He became the 1st player in the nation since 2013 with 2 games of 6+ 3fg in a game without a miss, twice in one season.
• CCSU ranked 3rd in all games (3.8) and 3rd in conference play (3.8) in blocked shots per game.
• Central had a season-high 8 blocked shots against SFBK on Dec. 31.
• Abdul Momoh ranked 3rd in the NEC with 1.3 per game in all games. He had a career-high 5 against Maine, the most by a Blue Devil since Feb. 8, 2020 (Xavier Wilson, 5, at Bryant).
• Along with Momoh, Jayden Brown (7th, 0.9) and Kellen Amos (14th, 0.5) ranked among the Top 15 in all games. Brown was even better in conference play, averaging 1.2 rejections per game.
• CCSU rejected 122 shots as a team last season, the 7th best single-season mark.
MEET THE NEWCOMERS...
• Allan Jeanne-Rose: Transfer from Fairfield...111 career games, 57 starts...Averaged 10.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, shooting 52.2 percent in 2022-23...Attended Saint John Paul II in Florida and won a Class 3A State championship...2019 All-Big Bend Player of the Year.
• Jordan Jones: Transfer from Coker...64 career games, 41 starts, averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 assists...All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team...2x region player of the year at Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School.
• Matias Rissanen: Attended Mäkelänrinne Upper Secondary School...Played for Tapiolan Honka...Helped the team win Finland's First Division and gain promotion to Korisliiga, the highest level league in Finland.
• Darin Smith, Jr.: Earned NEPSAC AAA honorable mention at Vermont Academy...Totaled 500 points and 200 rebounds...Helped team to the NEPSAC AAA Quarterfinals...As a freshman at Springfield Central, helping the team go 22-1 and advance to the 2020 MIAA Division 1 State Final.
• Daniele Russo: Played at Otero College...Averaged 4.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg in 5.2 mpg...Attended The Macduffie School...Student-Athlete of the Year.
• DJ Victory: Helped Cardinal Hayes to NY state #1 ranking as a senior...CHSSA champion in 2022...CHSSA archdiocese championship MVP.
• Stefan Gogic: Played for John Rhodes at IMG Academy.
