The Central Connecticut State University men’s basketball team defeated Wagner College 69-68 on Saturday at Detrick Gymnasium in a game that came down to the final seconds of overtime.
With the victory, the Blue Devils extended their winning streak to three games and improved to 6-1 in the NEC and 12-8 on the season, their best showing through 20 games since the 2010-11 season.
The two teams played a close game throughout both halves and overtime, as evidenced by the 11 lead changes. Neither team could establish control over the game, and the largest lead came late in the second half when Wagner went up by nine.
Wagner held a 60-51 lead with four minutes left in the game before the Blue Devils went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 60-60 and force overtime.
With 51.8 seconds left in overtime, Central senior Kellen Amos would make a deep three-pointer, giving the Blue Devils a 1-point lead.
On the next possession, CCSU graduate student Allan Jeanne-Rose drew a charge and forced a Wagner turnover. The offensive foul all but sealed the win for the Blue Devils after the Seahawks missed a last-second layup.
Jeanne-Rose finished the game with 13 points and four rebounds despite shooting only 3-8. He said that his offensive struggles in the game forced him to focus more on his defense, culminating in his crucial play down the stretch.
“It wasn’t working for me on the offensive end, but my teammates were doing a great job with that,” Jeanne-Rose said. “I just wanted to step up on the defensive end and try to help my team and find a way to help us win.”
Amos, who made the game-winning shot, led CCSU in scoring with 17 points while adding three assists and hitting a season-high four three-pointers. He said his confidence does not waver when taking important shots.
“I knew it was a big shot, but it’s just another shot to me,” Amos said. “When I get the ball, and it’s just one, two, raise up, I feel like I can make that shot … there’s a reason I shoot six, seven threes a game because I feel like I can make them.”
Central head coach Patrick Sellers said the fans helped the team get across the finish line.
“Today, our fans won us that game with their energy late in the game,” Sellers said. “We got down, and they wouldn’t let us lose. They gave these guys a lot of extra jolts to get back in the game, and that helped us a lot.”
The team looks to extend their winning streak to four games when they face Saint Francis University at home on Thursday, Feb. 1.
