Men's Basketball Subdues Fordham, 82-80, on Thursday
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team went on the road and held off Fordham, 82-80, at Rose Hill Gym on Thursday. The Blue Devils shot a season-best 65 percent in the second half and rallied from an eight-point deficit to collect their second straight road win.
Kellen Amos led five Blue Devils in double-figures with a season-high 20 points, while Jordan Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half. CCSU shot 27-of-49 (.551) overall and was 4-of-11 (.364) from three-point range. Central was 24-of-31 (.774) at the foul line.
Japhet Medor scored a game-high 23 points to pace Fordham. The Rams shot 28-of-60 (.467) overall and 11-of-28 (.393) from three-point range. Fordham was 13-of-17 (.765) at the foul line.
The Blue Devils are off until December 30 when they host Saint Elizabeth in the final non-conference game of the season.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 82, Fordham 80
Records: CCSU (5-7), Fordham (5-7)
Location: Rose Hill Gym | Bronx, NY)
KEY MOMENTS
- CCSU would score the game's first four points, but there would be five ties in the early going. CCSU would manage to nudge ahead 19-15 midway through the opening period after a driving layup by Allan Jeanne-Rose.
- The Blue Devils would lead throughout the first half until a baseline jumper by Will Richardson gave Fordham a 33-32 edge. The Rams would outscore CCSU, 12-2, over a five-minute span and scored nine unanswered points to stretch its lead to 38-32, but Kellen Amos would score four straight points to make it a two-point game at halftime.
- After a Rams three-pointer pushed the lead to five to open the second half, CCSU would score seven straight points. Jayden Brown started the run with a layup, followed by a pair of foul shots by Jeanne-Rose before Amos converted a three-point play to make it 43-41 with 17:31 to play.
- A string of turnovers on four straight possessions would lead to Fordham regaining the lead. The Rams would score eight unanswered points in just over a minute of action to go ahead 52-47. The Rams would extend the lead to eight points just before the midway mark of the half.
- Central would punch back with a 10-0 run over a 3:12-span. Abdul Momoh deposited a hook shot to open the string before Tre Breland connected on back-to-back three-pointers to make it 63-61 with 7:54 to play.
- The Rams would recover and take a three-point lead with 5:00 to play but the Blue Devils would come back down the stretch. A 10-2 spurt over a 3:26 span would put Central on top 77-72 with 1:20 left. CCSU led 81-74 with 27 seconds to play before the Rams would make it a one-possession game after a three-pointer by Japhet Medor. After a pair of missed foul shots by CCSU, Fordham was fouled with 0:03 left. Medor made the first foul shot, but had to miss the second on purpose and Central controlled the rebound to hold on for the win.
NUMBER TO KNOW
16 – CCSU was forced into a season-high in turnovers and after a stretch of turnovers on four straight possessions, the Blue Devils went 11 minutes without losing the ball in the second half.
NOTES
- Fordham leads the all-time series, 4-2, and CCSU won its first game in the series since Dec. 3, 1998.
- Amos finished with a season-high in scoring by shooting 6-of-11 overall and 7-of-8 at the charity stripe.
- Jones went 6-of-10 from the field in the second half and 6-of-6 from the foul line. He added a team-high six rebounds, four assists and three steals as well.
- Breland scored a season-high 12 points and posted his seventh double-digit scoring game of the year. He added six rebounds and two steals.
- Jeanne-Rose scored 11 points, while Jayden Brown chipped in 10 points.
- The Blue Devils had five players score in double-figures for the first time since Feb. 9, 2023 at Hartford.
- With Thursday's win, CCSU won back-to-back non-conference road games for the first time since 2017. (Nov. 24 at Cleveland State, 74-73; Dec. 2 at Brown, 68-62)
UP NEXT
The Blue Devils are off until December 30 when they host Saint Elizabeth in the final non-conference game of the season.
Follow @CCSUBlueDevils on Twitter and CCSUBlueDevils.com for updates.
