Men's Basketball Comeback Falls Short at Merrimack
The Central Connecticut men's basketball saw its four-game win streak come to an end with a 71-68 setback at Merrimack in Northeast Conference action in North Andover, MA on Satuday. The Blue Devils sliced a 14-point second half deficit to just two with 27 seconds remaining by the Warriors would manage to hang on in a matchup of the league's top two teams.
All five starters were in double-figures for the Blue Devils, led by Allan Jeanne-Rose who had 23 points. As a team, CCSU shot 26-of-54 (.481) overall and 5-of-19 (.263) from three-point range. The Blue Devils were 11-of-15 (.733) at the foul line.
Jordan Derkack scored 22 points to lead four Warriors in double-figures. Merrimack shot 25-of-44 (.568) overall and 10-of-21 (.476) on three-pointers. The Warriors were 11-of-19 (.579) at the foul line.
The Blue Devils host Sacred Heart for a "Blue Out" game on Thursday.
GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE
Score: CCSU 68, Merrimack 71
Records: CCSU (13-9, 7-2 NEC), MC ( 13-10,7-2 NEC
Location: Lawler Arena | North Andover, MA
KEY MOMENTS
- Central would hold its largest lead of the game in the early going after a three-pointer by Tre Breland made it 9-6 at the 16:57 mark. The lead would change five times in the next four minutes until Merrimack went ahead 18-15 at 12:12.
- Kellen Amos would tie the game at 23-23 with 8:45 left in the opening half. The Warriors would respond by scoring nine straight points and going ahead 32-23 on a Derkack basket with 6:35 to go in the half.
- The Blue Devils would hold Merrimack scoreless for nearly four minutes and regained the lead. Jordan Jones would open a 10-0 run by scoring five straight points. Jeanne-Rose capped the run with a layup to make it 33-32 and the teams would trade leads before three-pointers by Merrimack's Jordan McCoy and Devon Savage made it 41-36 at halftime.
- Savage would hit back-to-back three-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half and Merrimack would take its largest lead at 55-41 with 14:44 remaining.
- The Blue Devils trailed by 10 points with 4:16 to play before mounting a late charge. A layup by Jones was followed by two foul shots and a putback by Jeanne-Rose to cut the deficit to 68-64 with 57 seconds to play. After a pair of Merrimack foul shots, Jeanne-Rose would make a pair of foul shots and a steal by Kamos led to two free throws by Jones to make it 70-68 with 27 seconds left. A foul shot would make a three-point game and the Blue Devils' chance to tie was off the mark.
NUMBER TO KNOW
17 – Both teams committed 17 turnovers in the game which led to 18 points off turnovers for each side.
NOTES
- The teams split the season series, each side winning on its home court. CCSU leads the all-time series, 15-12.
- Jeanne-Rose posted his seventh 20-point game of the season on 9-of-14 shooting. He added six rebounds and two blocked shots.
- Tre Breland added 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
- Jordan Jones finished with 11 points, seven assists and four steals. He has five or more assists in four straight games.
- Jayden Brown had 10 points, seven rebounds and Kellen Amos added 10 points, five rebounds and three steals.
- The game had 10 lead changes in the first half.
- CCSU had its nation-leading six-game road win streak come to an end.
- The teams are tied atop the conference standings at 7-2 with seven games remaining in the regular season.
UP NEXT
The Blue Devils host Sacred Heart for a "Blue Out" game on Thursday.
Follow @CCSUBlueDevils on Twitter and CCSUBlueDevils.com for updates.