The Central Connecticut Blue Devils men’s basketball team was upset at home by the Wagner College Seahawks, 66-56, in the semifinals of the Northeast Conference tournament.
Poor shooting, missed free throws and turnovers plagued the Blue Devils down the stretch.
The Blue Devils were held to just 14% from beyond the three-point line and 33% overall. They also committed five turnovers, resulting in a five-point deficit at the halftime break.
The second half didn’t fare much better for the Blue Devils. After being down by as much as 9 points early in the second half, Central rallied to tie the game at 39 with just over nine minutes to play.
From there, the Blue Devils had opportunities to take the lead but failed to capitalize on them. Wagner took a three-point lead with 6:46 remaining and held it for the rest of the game.
Overall, the Blue Devils shot 35.2% from the field, 5-for-26 (19.2%) from three, committed eight turnovers, were outrebounded by seven and missed seven free throws.
The loss ended Central’s season at a 20-11 overall record.
Senior guard Jordan Jones completed his first season at the Division I level after spending his first three seasons at Division II Coker University in South Carolina.
“It’s just a perfect situation for me personally,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else … I will be back next year; this is just a good environment for a player to thrive, with a coach who trusts you and teammates who trust you.”
Senior forward Allan Jeanne-Rose played his final game as a Blue Devil.
“This was the best year of my whole college career,” Jeanne-Rose said. “I’m very proud of the work we put in. We fell short today, but I’m only going to keep the positive memories and move forward. That’s all we can do.”
Despite the season-ending result, head coach Patrick Sellers had a positive message for his players in the locker room.
“Thank you for the effort, energy and enthusiasm you brought every day to practice,” Sellers said. “I just want you to remember this moment, this group of guys that you’re with, that you went to battle with every day and worked hard with every day. You’re going to be locked together forever.”
