The last time Central Connecticut’s men’s basketball team traveled to Chase Family Arena, they were defeated by Hartford in a one-point overtime loss to open the 2017 season. This time around, the Blue Devils came out on top, topping the Hawks 75-68 to open their season.

The difference from last year’s season-opener was the team playing together, per senior forward Tyler Kohl. Head coach Donyell Marshall agreed that the team was more focused than last year, due to the distraction of his suspension.

Marshall believed what gave his team the edge was crucial defensive stops late, as well as a strong second-half effort.

“I think we just played a little harder than they did at the end,” he said.

Kohl propelled the team offensively, thanks to a career-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

“He did it at all levels,” Marshall said of his star player. “He trusted his teammates. He got them going early which opened it up for him in the second half.”

“My guys trusted me, they trusted me to make plays, facilitate and rebound and do all the things to win. I couldn’t do this without my teammates,” Kohl said.

The performance comes on the heels of a quiet showing in the team’s exhibition against Arcadia, where Kohl had just seven points. Kohl said he didn’t entirely trust himself in his first game back from a broken hand, something that changed against Hartford.

“I was more so trying to get everything back. I broke my hand, so I was out of rhythm a little bit. I wasn’t trusting myself the first fame back. The difference is I trusted myself today,” Kohl said.

Also picking up a double-double was senior center Deion Bute, who scored fifteen points while shooting 75 percent from the floor. In addition, he grabbed 11 rebounds while only turning the ball over twice.

Marshall commended Bute’s defensive effort against Hawks forward George Blagojevic, who he called a potential Player of the Year in the America East Conference.

“He did a great job of guarding him (Blagojevic) but he also rebounded very well and made his free throws,” Marshall said.

Marshall also cited freshman point guard Thai Segwai as a crucial piece to the team’s victory, though it did not show in the box score.

“He came in and did a really good job defensively on the point guard and really made it hard for them to run their offense,” Marshall said.

The Blue Devils then took on Big East opponent Georgetown on the road, where they more than held their own, falling to the Hoyas by a mere seven points.

While Kohl had another solid performance, scoring 19 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists, freshman Ian Krishnan was the star, scoring a game-high 28 thanks to six three-pointers.

In addition to Kohl and Krishnan, Marshall relied on Segwai, freshman forward Karrington Wallace and junior Kashaun Hicks to fill the valuable minutes left in the game, cutting the deficit to just four with four minutes remaining. But a late 9-0 run put the game away for the Hoyas.

The Blue Devils were unable to contain center Jessie Govan, who had 26 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Not only did Govan dominate in the paint, but he was also able to spread the floor, hitting two threes.

The Blue Devils, now 1-1 overall, will be back in action when they take on UMass Lowell at home on Tuesday, Nov. 13.