Central Connecticut men’s basketball fell in their out of conference match up with the University of New Hampshire, losing 77-63. The Blue Devils were held scoreless for more than seven minutes in the second half, leading to an insurmountable lead from UNH.

“We put our heads down, we didn’t have the confidence,” head coach Donyell Marshall said following the loss. “I don’t know if it’s me right now just not being a good coach or whatever. We try to keep their confidence going, I just don’t know if the guys know how to fight through adversity right now.”

Four three’s to start the game helped CCSU jump out to an eight point lead in the half. The Blue Devil defense stifled UNH to open up the game, allowing only one make on 12 shots, five turnovers and five fouls in the opening eight minutes.

The Wildcats did not take long to answer back, however, using a 13-4 run to catapult them into a one point lead. UNH rode this lead into the half, going into the break up five.

Sophomore Karrington Wallace dished out the first assist and followed it up with a clean jump shot in the paint to put them up four. Only a few minutes later, Wallace was down on the court holding his right ankle. The sophomore did not return in the game, but put pressure on the same leg as he was assisted off the court.

CCSU was able to draw within four to open up the second, but was held scoreless for seven minutes as UNH climbed to a 12 point lead.

Down 19 with four minutes to play in the game, Stephan Ayangma checked back in for the Blue Devils. He scored six and grabbed two crunch time boards before the clock expired, and finished the night with 15 points on 80 percent shooting. He also went six of seven from the charity stripe.

The Blue Devils were able to draw closer in the final minutes, but were not left with enough time to pose a threat of a comeback.

“We started getting stops and we were able to score,” Marshall said, “unfortunately it was just too late.”

Ayangma did not want to focus on his individual accomplishments, instead taking a focus on the team’s success moving forward.

“Basketball is a team sport,” Ayangma said. “I can’t really take anything positive from this one because we didn’t win the game. I just hope the next game we can be better.”

For Ayangma, his eyes are on the future, that being the ever important Northeast Conference portion of the schedule.

“We have to set goals for our team to keep improving going into conference play,” Ayangma said, “then hopefully we can have a good conference season.”

CCSU finished the night at the line with a 77.8 percentage, a noticeable improvement from their four straight games in which they shot in the 50’s.

“If free throws are the only positive that we can get from this game that’s not a good sign,” Marshall said.

The late push from the Blue Devils was the first sign of life in the second. “They finally showed that you don’t give up,” Marshall said.

“I don’t know if it’s because Karrington went down and we put our heads down, or if it’s because we lost the lead and it was a ‘here we go again.’ I don’t know. If I knew we wouldn’t be at the point we are. We continuously watch film. I’m not a good coach right now that’s all I can say.”

The Blue Devils will continue their out of conference part of the schedule this weekend as they take place in the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament. They’ll be making the short road trip to Mohegan Sun to take on a Vermont team headlined by Anthony Lamb, who is averaging 20.6 points and 9.2 boards. The Catamounts are coming off a six point loss the seventh seeded Virginia.