Men’s basketball struggled against a feisty Wagner team on Friday night, losing 62-57 in their first home game since the start of conference play. Central started strong, jumping out to an early lead, but a combination of turnovers, slow pace and poor shooting kept Wagner in the game.
Central shot well in the first half, going 11-of-23 (47.8%) from the field and 5-of-11 (45.5%) from three. The shooting dropped off significantly in the second half, with the Blue Devils going 8-of-28 (28.6%) from the field and 2-of-13 (15.4%) from beyond the arc.
“It was just simple stuff that we weren’t doing that we usually do,” senior center Jayden Brown said. “Free throws were a big point…we should’ve made free throws. We would’ve won the game.”
Head Coach Patrick Sellers agreed with Brown, adding that Wagner’s tactics disrupted Central’s attack.
“Offensively, the big thing was free throws,” Sellers said. “We missed nine free throws in the game…[Wagner] took us out of rhythm. They did a good job mixing up man and zone and we got into our offense really slow.”
The Blue Devils struggled defensively as well, allowing Wagner to shoot 46.2% from three-point range and being out-rebounded 36-31. Central blocked 12 shots and forced 13 turnovers, but Wagner still outscored the Blue Devils 30-24 in the second half.
“Moving forward, we’re going to stick with the same defense,” Brown said. “We [had to adjust] to [their offense] because we were too high up on ball screens…We slowed them down a little bit, [but] in the [end] of the game, we just need to adjust.”
Brown and senior guard Davonte Sweatman both performed well, with 12 and 14 points respectively. Brown was solid efficiency-wise, knocking down two threes, blocking a shot and leading the team with six rebounds. Sweatman knocked down two deep three-pointers and was clutch down the stretch despite the loss.
“They’re seniors. These guys are grown men,” Sellers said. “What stings is that this team beat us last year in the conference tournament…[Brown and Sweatman] know what it takes to win these tight games. We’ve got to get everybody else locked in and on board to help us beat a team like this.”
Central began the game guns blazing, with five quick points from Brown and two threes from Sweatman giving the Blue Devils a 12-2 lead in the first six minutes. Wagner was able to fight its way back into the game, knotting things up at 19 with nine minutes left in the half.
At the 7:00 mark, senior guard Joe Ostrowsky drained a three to push Central’s lead to 27-20 before Wagner went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 29-29. Both teams held each other scoreless for the next several minutes until senior forward Abdul Momoh went to the foul line with 2:25 remaining. The Blue Devils would go into the half leading by one at 33-32.
The game would be tied once again at 40-40 just five minutes into the second half. Wagner would take the lead and push it to 54-47 at the 7:54 mark. After a few buckets by Central, both teams would experience another several minute-long scoring drought which would freeze the score at 54-51.
The drought would finally come to an end with 3:07 remaining when junior guard Devin Haid was fouled on a three-point attempt. After converting all three free throws, both teams found themselves tied again at 54-54.
The Blue Devils would briefly find themselves ahead 56-54 before Wagner went on a 6-0 run to put themselves up by four with 28 seconds left. Senior forward Abdul Momoh would hit the foul line with 19 seconds left, splitting the free throws and cutting Wagner’s lead to three. Central was forced to foul to stop the clock and Wagner converted 2-of-3 free throws. A last second three-point heave by Haid missed the mark, sealing the Blue Devils’ 62-57 loss.
With the loss, the Blue Devils’ five-game win streak came to an end, dropping their overall season record to 11-5 and their record in the Northeast Conference to 2-1.
The men look to bounce back in their last home game before hitting the road when they take on a hot Long Island University team that is coming off of 3 straight wins. Tip-off is on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 1:00 pm in Detrick Gymnasium.
