by Daniel Bates
Central Connecticut men’s basketball team season-long struggles, flourished once again as they fell to Wagner, 70-60, in a Northeast Conference battle . The Blue Devils sported three players in double-figures, but still came up short against the NEC’s number one defense on Thursday night.
The Blue Devils’ (4-18, 2-9 NEC) struggles came from the free throw line, converting only 14 of their 28 chances at the stripe (50 percent).
“It was a close game in calls and fouls,” said CCSU head coach Donyell Marshall. “Last game they had 16 offensive rebounds, today they only had 10, we had 13. At the end of the day it’s free throws.”
Wagner (11-11, 7-5 NEC) came out of the gates early with an 8-2 run to start the game, capped by Corey Henson’s three-pointer, before the Blue Devils would respond with a 10-0 run of their own to take their first lead.
Freshman Tyson Batiste, got things started with a layup to open up the run, capped by senior Khalen Cumberlander’s buzzer-beating three-pointer, as the shot clock expired to put the Blue Devils up 17-12 with 9:52 to go in the first.
The Seahawks took an eight-point lead heading into intermission, 35-27, propelled by a late 13-4 push in the closing minutes of the half. Henson led the charge with six points, including four straight.
But CCSU rallied to cut the lead to 35-32 on sophomore Austin Nehls three-pointer, just minutes into the second half. Michael Carey kick-started the Wagner offense with a pair of free throws. This would be as close as the Blue Devils would get, as Wagner rolled the rest of the way to a victory.
Nehls scored 17 points to the lead the Blue Devils, who hit just 20 of 53 shots from the field but were 6-18 from beyond the arc. Cumberlander added 14 points, and junior Mustafa Jones had 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior Tafari Whittingham cleaned up nine boards to lead the team and match a career high.
Carey had 19 points on eight of 12 shots from the field and grabbed six rebounds to lead Wagner (10-11, 6-5). Henson contributed 13 points as the team shot a collective 22 of 49 from the field (44.9 percent), including four of 14 from deep, and converted 22 of 28 chances at the free throw line.
The Blue Devils kicked off a three game road trip with a win on Saturday, as they beat Mount St. Mary’s 54-52. With the win, they look to make a late push for the NEC tournament.
“Everything we’ve been through, 13-game losing streak, starting out 0-7 [in conference], this league is so crazy,” Marshall said. “We’re a game out of the eight spot, but truly we’re only three games out of the four spot. Anything can happen.”
