Men's Basketball Advances in NEC Tournament with Win at FDU Monday

The Central Connecticut men's basketball won the opening round game of the Northeast Conference Tournament with a 67-66 victory at FDU in Hackensack, NJ on Monday night. The Blue Devils trailed by 15 points early in the second half, but took their first lead of the game with seven seconds to play. CCSU advances to the quarterfinals to face top-seeded Bryant on Wednesday.

Juniors Nigel Scantlebury had a game-high 19 points, while freshmen Trenton McLaughlin scored 14 and Andre Snoddy chipped in 13 points. Central shot 23-of-49 (.469) overall and was 9-of-22 (.409) on three-pointers. The Blue Devils went 12-of-14 (.857) at the foul line.

Brandon Rush had 15 points to lead four in double-figures for FDU. The Knights shot 24-of-53 (.453) overall and 7-of-21 (.333) from three-point range. FDU went 11-of-15 (.733) from the foul line.

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT | OPENING ROUND
Score: #9 CCSU 67, #8 FDU 66
Records: CCSU (8-23, 5-13 NEC), FDU (5-21, 5-13 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• An up and under layup from freshman Andre Snoddy tied the game 6-6 in the early going before the Knights ran off nine straight points and held the Blue Devils scoreless for nearly three minutes. The Knights would extend the run to 13-2 and build a double-digit lead after a layup by Brandon Rush at the 10:57 mark.
• Freshman Trenton McLaughlin would hit a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to get Central within 20-14 as the Blue Devils opened the game hitting at a 50 percent clip. CCSU, however, would close the half shooting 1-of-10 from the arc, including five straight misfires. Junior Nigel Scantlebury would keep CCSU within 34-27 at the intermission as he finished the half going 3-of-4 from the field.
• Oscar Berry opened the second half with consecutive three-pointers to push the FDU lead to 40-27 with 18:48 to play. The Knights would continue the run to open the half following a dunk by Brandon Rush, but he would be assessed a technical foul on the play. Central would quickly respond with seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to single digits. CCSU would hit 5-of-6 shots at one point and got within 47-40 with 14:40 to play after a three by Scandlebury.
• The Blue Devils went on a 16-5 run over a five-minute span and would further trim the deficit to 47-43 after scoring six unanswered points. Three straight points by Snoddy would get CCSU to within two possessions and McLaughlin would hit his fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 52-51 with 8:09 to play.
• The Knights would keep a slim lead until 3:14 remained and Snoddy hit a pair of foul shots to make it 60-60 as part of a quick 5-0 run by Central. FDU would push the lead back to four points and maintain its edge before Scantlebury hit a trifecta with 0:47 to play to make it 66-65. Following a blocked shot in the paint by Snoddy, the Blue Devils would take their first lead of the night on two foul shots by Scantlebury with seven seconds to play and hold on for the win.

QUOTABLE

"I'm so proud of these guys and how they competed and battled back," said CCSU head coach Patrick Sellers. "The last time we played [FDU] it was the same thing, we got down 15, and our guys just kept battling. We dug ourselves a hole, but a lot of credit to these guys, we kept fighting."

NUMBER TO KNOW

59.1 - CCSU shot a blistering 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) from the field in the second half and was 6-of-9 from three-point range. The 59.1 percent was CCSU's best second half shooting percentage of the season.

NOTES

• FDU leads the series 29-23. Central won two of three meetings in 2021-22.
• CCSU was playing its first postseason game since 2017-18 and earned its first win since the 2011 quarterfinals (64-62 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn).
• Central has won both postseason meetings with FDU. The only other matchup was March 7, 2004, a 76-73 overtime win for the Blue Devils.
• The Blue Devils won their first true road game in NEC Tournament play in 11 games and are now 1-10.
• Scantlebury shot 6-of-9 from the field and grabbed a team-high six rebounds and dished out five assists.
• McLaughlin matched a career-high in scoring and shot 4-of-6 from the arc, also matching a career-high.
• Snoddy scored in double-figures in all three games against FDU this season, averaging 15.0 points.
• Central finished with 15 assists in the game, its fourth contest with 15+ this season.
• CCSU is 71-of-85 (.835) from the foul line in the past five games.
• CCSU took the lead with 0:07 to play - its first lead in a game since 5-3 at Wagner on Feb. 19 with 15:08 to play in the first half, a span of 155:01.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils will play at top-seeded Bryant on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.