The Central Connecticut State men’s basketball team got the job done on Sunday, Nov. 24, handling the Binghamton Bearcats 64-56 at Detrick Gymnasium.
The win boosts CCSU’s record to 3-3 and 2-0 at home. Binghamton’s record drops to 2-5 and 0-4 on the road.
This game was all about adjustments, with the first half being defensive-oriented and the second half being dominated by the offense.
Three Blue Devils scored in double figures. Senior forward Jayden Brown led all scorers with a season-high 17 points, shooting 7-10 from the field and 3-5 from the three-point line, while also grabbing 8 rebounds. Senior guards Jordan Jones and Davonte Sweatman both added 15 points each.
Brown was the engine for the Blue Devils, scoring the first 10 points for the team and being the only player to score for the Blue Devils until the 11:16 mark in the first half.
Brown explained how his teammates played a part in why he had his best performance of the young season.
“They were doing the hard cuts that were getting me open,” he said. “So it’s a shout out to them on why I had 17 [points].”
At the end of the first half, the Blue Devils led 28-19. CCSU’s head coach, Patrick Sellers, took the blame for the low scoring first half.
“In practice, I was so on them about taking care of the basketball,” he said. “I think we can get easier shots if we push the pace a little bit more.”
Both teams combined for a total of 44 points scored in the first half, while in the second half, 73 points were scored.
Sellers explained how Binghamton was able to score 37 points in the second half.
“Our five man was actually guarding a guy that could really shoot it, and we gave up a couple threes because we didn’t get to him quick enough,” he said. “So that hurt us a little bit.”
Sellers added that they were able to contain the shooting once they went with a smaller lineup.
The Blue Devils had a solid game on the defensive side, finishing the game with 2 blocks and forcing 10 turnovers. They held Binghamton to 43.1% from the field.
On the offensive side, the Blue Devils separated themselves from the Bearcats by showing their toughness and aggression, having a +10 offensive rebound differential.
Sellers said that they need to continue to improve on defense and knows that his team can do better than only scoring 64 points.
The win boosts CCSU’s record to 3-3 and 2-0 at home. Binghamton’s record drops to 2-5 and 0-4 on the road.
The Blue Devils take on UMass Lowell at Detrick Gymnasium on Sunday, Dec. 1. CCSU will try to increase their win streak at home to 3 games.
