In a game defined by a series of big-time plays down the stretch, the Central Connecticut State men’s basketball team pulled off a narrow 108-106 victory over the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Monday, Nov. 24 at Detrick Gymnasium. After senior guard Jay Rodgers hit a clutch 3-point shot to send the game to overtime, junior forward Max Frazier threw down the game-winning poster dunk, giving the Blue Devils their second win in a row.
“For 30-something games a year, I’m rooting for Sacred Heart, except for this game,” CCSU head coach Patrick Sellers said. “I’m glad we won it. I know they’re going to be really good. He’s a really good coach [Sacred Heart’s Anthony Latina]. They got some good players… but tonight is these guys’ night.”
Central had three players finish in double figures. Sophomore forward Darin Smith Jr. led the way with a career-high 38 points, five rebounds and four assists. He shot 12-for-21 from the field, went 3-for-7 from 3-point range and finished 11-for-12 at the free-throw line.
“The other team, they play a fast-paced game, so we have to somehow keep up with that,” Smith said. “It was just one of those nights. I felt it and played hard.”
Frazier followed with his own career-high 24 points on 9-for-11 shooting, along with five rebounds and four blocks. Senior guard Melo Sanchez added 17 points, two rebounds and three assists.
The Blue Devils shot 38-for-62 (.613) overall, 7-of-16 (.438) from 3-point range and 25-for-33 (.758) at the line. The Pioneers went 34-for-67 from the field, 13-for-30 from deep and an almost perfect 25-for-26 at the free-throw line.
Central and Sacred Heart entered Monday night’s nonconference matchup coming off wins and looking to keep their momentum going. The Blue Devils were fresh off a convincing 67-54 road victory over Rutgers on Nov. 21 for their second win over a power-conference team this month after beating Boston College on Nov. 11. That same night, SHU picked up a 79-66 home win over Holy Cross.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, featuring multiple lead changes, and neither team was able to create real separation. Both sides stayed within four points until the final minutes, when Central finally began to pull ahead. A fast-break dunk off a steal by sophomore forward Daniel James pushed the Blue Devils’ lead to six with 23 seconds left, but Sacred Heart answered with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cut the margin to 54-51 at halftime.
Central may have entered the break with a larger lead if not for a string of fouls that sent the Pioneers to the line throughout the half. SHU capitalized, shooting 11-for-12 at the stripe compared to Central’s 4-for-6. Even so, the Blue Devils controlled the paint, outscoring SHU 24-14 inside, while Smith poured in 21 first-half points on 8-for-11 shooting.
Central opened the second half on a 12-4 run, pushing its lead to 66-55 with 16:19 left, the largest gap of the night. But a pair of costly technical fouls kept the Blue Devils from creating an even bigger cushion. Sacred Heart took advantage, responding with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to three with 14:38 remaining.
Central held the advantage until a 10-2 burst by the Pioneers turned the game on its head, giving SHU an 84-83 lead with just over four minutes left. By the 2:34 mark, Sacred Heart had stretched its advantage to 89-84, nearly putting the game out of reach for a CCSU team that hadn’t scored a field goal in roughly nine minutes.
With 28 seconds left, a hook shot from Frazier finally ended Central’s drought and cut the deficit to one. After SHU made two free throws to go up 93-90, Rodgers buried a clutch 3-pointer with nine seconds left to tie the game and send the building into an uproar.
In overtime, Sacred Heart briefly regained control, going up 98-95, but Central answered quickly. A dunk by sophomore guard James Jones and a Pioneer turnover sparked a 4-0 run that put CCSU back in front, 101-98, with 3:04 left. SHU responded with back-to-back 3s to tie the game at 106-106 with 24 seconds remaining.
With two seconds left, Rodgers found Frazier cutting to the rim, and Frazier threw down a poster dunk to seal the 108-106 win, igniting chaos inside Detrick Gymnasium.
More than 2,000 fans filled the arena on Monday, a strong turnout boosted by Central’s recent momentum. Frazier said the energy helped carry them over the top.
“It felt really good to have a crowd like that,” Frazier said. “We want to stack wins and stack good days. We just won a big game against Rutgers, so we didn’t want to come in here and be flat. We wanted to keep it going.”
With the win over Sacred Heart, Central improved to 4-2 and now has six games remaining before conference play begins. The Blue Devils return home to face Johnson & Wales (R.I.) on Sunday, Nov. 30, before heading on the road for their next three matchups.
