Central Connecticut basketball earned its first win of the season after a tough run of fixtures. The elusive win came against Connecticut College, as the Blue Devils won 89-55.

The Blue Devils welcomed back the return of sophomore guard Ian Krishnan, whose game-high 23 points enabled CCSU to put themselves in the win column. Central shot 34-of-61 (.557) from the field and was 12-of-20 (.600) from behind the arc. The Blue Devils forced 26 turnovers against the Camels. This was the first time the two sides had met.

At the turn of the new year, Central opened up conference play against Robert Morris, which the Blue Devils lost 89-78. For the second straight game, Krishnan scored a team-high 20 points, while freshman guard Greg Outlaw added 15 and rookie Jamir Reed finished with 14 points.

The Blue Devils collected 7 steals, their ninth game of the season with six or more. Outlaw had three. CCSU managed to get within 85-78 with 0:29 to play but the Colonials hit four foul shots to close it out.

The Blue Devils would then lose games against Saint Francis U, 93-69 and to LIU 90-78.

Next CCSU faced Merrimack, who in their first NEC season have already beaten Army, UMass Lowell and Hartford out of conference. Central went into the half tied at 25 but went on to lose 58-46. Senior Jamir Coleman and junior Stephane Ayangma hit consecutive layups in the first 1:13 of the second half to give CCSU a 29-25 lead, but Merrimack responded with an 11-1 run, holding CCSU without a field goal for over six minutes to take a 36-30 lead. Merrimack outscored CCSU by 19 (25-6) in points off turnovers.

The teams were meeting for the first time since Dec. 6, 1984. Central had won six straight in the series and is 13-5 all-time against Merrimack. The meeting was the first between the schools as members of the Northeast Conference.

The Blue Devils would start a three-game road trip against Sacred Heart, losing 66-55. Both teams scored 33 points in the second half but it wasn’t enough to stop Central from losing their 5th straight game. CCSU was 0-of-4 on three-pointers in the first half, while SHU was just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in the opening period. Central hit 3-of-6 in the second half, while SHU was just 2-of-9.

The Blue Devils have a slight advantage in the all time series, leading 37-30. The Pioneers have won the previous nine matchups, with Central last winning on Feb. 21, 2015.

In the second game of their road trip, the Blue Devils travelled to Mount St. Mary’s. Freshman Jamir Reed led the Blue Devils with 12 points. CCSU fall to 1-18 overall and 0-6 in league play, while Mount is 7-11 overall and 3-2 in NEC play. The Mountaineers turned 13 CCSU turnovers into a 20-2 advantage in point off turnovers. In conference play, CCSU is shooting 77.3% at the foul line