The Central Blue Devils men’s basketball team defeated the Saint Francis University Red Flash, 71-62, in Detrick Gymnasium in the first round of the Northeast Conference tournament.
Graduate forward Allan Jeanne-Rose led Central in scoring with 28 points on 10-of-11 shooting, 17 of which were scored in the first half. Senior guard Jordan Jones also contributed with 18 points.
The Blue Devils started the game out strong, building a 10-point lead just 8 minutes into the game. Saint Francis clawed their way back into the contest throughout the remainder of the half and closed the gap to two at the break.
The Red Flash built an 8-point lead with just 9:37 remaining in the contest before clutch Blue Devil shooting, particularly from beyond the arc, evened the game at 57 with just over six minutes to play.
From there, the two sides traded the lead back and forth before a Jones mid-range jumper gave the Blue Devils the lead for good. Central hit their free throws at the end of the game and successfully defended home court with a 9-point victory.
Both teams shot the ball well, but the 13 Red Flash turnovers proved to be the difference.
Head coach Patrick Sellers led the Blue Devils to their 20th overall win on the season and the program’s first victory in the Northeast Conference tournament since 2011.
“I was here as an assistant when we were really good and going to the NCAA Tournament,” he said. “The thing that former head coach [Howie] Dickenman instilled in our team, especially on the defensive end, is that it’s going to be a tough game, and you’re going to have a raucous crowd. But if you defend and rebound, and that’s what we did tonight, eventually, we’re going to get that monkey off our back and that tournament win.”
A crowd of 2,412 witnessed the first Northeast Conference tournament game at Detrick Gymnasium since 2011. The atmosphere that comes along with such a high-profile game was felt by its players, especially senior guard Kellen Amos.
“It was cool, especially when you look back on where we were,” Amos said. “We were playing games with nobody in the gym. To go from there to where we are now, you get to look back and see how far we have come and what we have accomplished so far. It is March; this is the time of year for college basketball. Central Connecticut, New Britain; They’re embracing it, so we love it.”
The Blue Devils return to Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday to take on the Wagner College Seahawks in the semifinal round of the NEC tournament.
