Men's Basketball Sinks Saint Joseph's, 73-67, on Friday Night

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team, preseason Northeast Conference co-favorites, claimed a 73-67 win at Saint Joseph's on Friday night in Philadelphia. The Blue Devils erased a four-point deficit with a 9-0 run in the second half to take the lead for good midway through the period as three players scored 13 points to lead the way for the visitors.

Jayden Brown scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half to help Central build a 10-point lead, while Davonte Sweatman had nine points to lead CCSU in the second half. Jordan Jones and Darin Smith, Jr., each added 13 points as CCSU shot 28-of-57 (.491) overall and 8-of-24 (.333) from three-point range. The Blue Devils 9-of-14 (.643) at the foul line.

Rasheer Fleming had a game-high 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Hawks. Saint Joe's was 25-of-58 (.431) overall and 7-of-30 (.233) on three-pointers. SJU was 10-of-17 (.538) at the foul line.

GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE
Score:  CCSU 73, Saint Joseph's 67
Records: CCSU (1-1), SJU (1-1)
Location: Hagan Arena | Philadelphia, PA

KEY MOMENTS

• The Blue Devils fell behind by six points to open the game, but would recover with a 10-3 run over a span of 2:28 to go ahead 12-11 following a three-pointer by Brown. Central would expand the margin to 24-15 after Devin Haid hit a three-pointer with 9:18 to go in the period.
• CCSU would be held to just a pair of field goals, both by Brown, over the next six minutes, but would cling to a 29-27 lead. Smith would end a two-minute scoring drought to push the lead to 31-27 and opened an 8-0 run to close the half as Jordan Jones converted four straight foul shots to make it 37-27 at the intermission.
• The Blue Devils held a 39-29 lead with 18:55 to play, but the Hawks would hold them without a field goal for over four minutes and regained the lead with a 13-1 run to make it 44-40 following a layup by Derek Simpson with 14:30 remaining.
• Central would cut the deficit to one following a foul shot by Abdul Momoh and a layup by Smith with 12:13 to go. The Blue Devils go on to score nine unanswered points and pushed ahead, 49-46, on a layup by Joe Ostrowsky midway through the half.
• The Hawks would get within 57-55, but Ostrowsky would hit a deep three-pointer as the shot clock wound down to make it a five-point game before Smith and Sweatman would answer SJU buckets with three's of their own on back-to-back possessions that left CCSU ahead, 71-64, with 1:42 to play.
• A pair of foul shots by Ostrowsky with six seconds left was all the Blue Devils would need after limiting the Hawks to just a layup and a foul shot in the final 1:33 for the final margin.

NUMBER TO KNOW

59:47 – Through two games (80:00), both on the road, Central has led for a total of 59:47 and trailed for just 10:25 of gametime.

NOTES

• The all-time series is 1-1, with both meetings taking place in Hagan Arena.
• The Blue Devils' biggest deficit of the season was 6-0, just 19:23 into the game at SJU.
• Momoh finished with a team-high 11 rebounds, while going 4-of-5 from the field to finish with nine points.
• Brown made a career-high three three-pointers in the first half.
• Jordan Jones added six assists, one turnover, and five rebounds in 32 minutes.
• Smith, Jr., was 6-of-8 from the field and added a team-high two steals in 20 minutes of the bench.
• Sweatman played 22 minutes and finished 5-of-6 from the field with 11 points, two steals and two assists.
• CCSU shot 50.0 percent from the field (14-of-28) in the first half, while Saint Joseph's was 14-of-26 (.538) in the second half.
• The Blue Devils were +2 in turnover margin for the game and are +11 for the season.

UP NEXT

• The Blue Devils have their home-opener on Monday night against Vermont State-Johnson. 

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