Central Connecticut’s men’s basketball team defeated Division III Arcadia at home on Saturday by a score of 79-72. It is the second year in a row the Blue Devils beat a non-DI team by single-digits points in a season-opening exhibition.

The brightest spot on the day for the Blue Devils was freshman Ian Krishnan, who led the way with 25 points on 9-15 shooting, sinking five three-pointers in 31 minutes of play.

“I’ve followed Ian since the middle of last summer, I saw what he can do. He’s one of those players that I’m glad he wasn’t on the main circuit. We knew he was a diamond in the rough,” head coach Donyell Marshall said of Krishnan.

But Marshall did say he did not expect Krishnan to score 25 points every game.

Another newcomer to make his presence known was forward Jamir Coleman, a transfer from Junior College. Coleman scored 18 points, with 16 of them coming in the second half. He also brought in six rebounds.

Coleman was the starting power forward, with top-scorer Joe Hugley coming off the bench.

Hugley only saw 10 minutes as he compiled four fouls in the first half and did not see the court in the second half as the two squads battled for the lead.

Another crucial Blue Devil that did not make his presence known on the scoreboard was senior forward Tyler Kohl, who scored just seven points while making two field goals. But Kohl did secure six boards while dishing out eight assists, in line with his output from last year.

Kohl was named to the preseason All-Northeast Conference first team, and the Blue Devils will need him to live up to that production should they want to compete in the conference.

Marshall said the presence of Krishnan and Coleman took some of the pressure off Kohl, citing that the team would have likely lost badly in a game where Kohl only scored seven points.

The first half was a struggle offensively for the Blue Devils, trailing the Knights 36-34. Besides Krishnan, who had 17 points, no other Blue Devil had more than four.

Marshall said he expected the game to be sloppy “especially for a team like us that’s trying to incorporate six new players.”

The two teams traded leads in the first 10 minutes of the second half and were gridlocked at 51 apiece until the halfway point.

The Blue Devils then took control, even leading by 11 with just over five minutes remaining. But the Knights would go on a 10-2 run, cutting the lead to 72-69 with just over two minutes remaining.

The Blue Devils were able to squeak out the win due to strong free throw shooting, sinking seven of 10 in these final two minutes and shot 85 percent from the stripe the entire contest.

Center Deion Bute went 3-6 in this period, while Coleman and point guard Tyson Batiste did not miss, both perfect for the entire contest.

The Blue Devils will begin their regular season when they travel to Hartford on Tuesday, Nov. 6, where they will look to avenge a one-point overtime loss to the Hawks to open last season.