For the first time since 1984, the Central Connecticut State men’s basketball team has scored 100-plus points in back-to-back home wins, routing Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 122-57 at Detrick Gymnasium on Nov. 30. Six Blue Devils scored in double figures, punctuating a performance that marked Central’s largest margin of victory this season.
It was a balanced effort throughout, as all 13 Blue Devils who saw action against the Wildcats scored a field goal. Central’s bench stepped up in a big way, contributing 68 points, more than half of the team’s total.
“It was a great team effort today,” sophomore forward Darin Smith Jr. said. “My teammates, they work out with me all the time. We get in the gym, we practice together, so it feels good that everybody’s having scoring nights and playing good basketball.”
Smith led the way once again for CCSU, following up his 38-point performance against Sacred Heart on Nov. 24 with 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Gabe Spinelli added 16 points, five rebounds and three assists, while freshman guards Ashton Reynolds and Roddy Jones chipped in 13 points apiece. Senior guard Jay Rodgers finished with 11 points, and junior forward Max Frazier posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Blue Devils were dominant across all categories. Central shot 50-for-71 (70.4%) from the field compared to Johnson & Wales’ 24-for-68 (35.4%). From deep, CCSU went 13-for-22 (59.1%) while the Wildcats finished 9-for-34 (26.5%). On the glass, the Blue Devils held a 47-20 rebounding advantage. Central also controlled the paint, outscoring Johnson & Wales 68-16.
“We had a lot of guys play good basketball,” Central head coach Patrick Sellers said. “We talked in the pregame about being obsessed with playing the right way – sharing the ball, getting the ball from side to side of the floor – and for the most part, for 40 minutes, we tried to play the right way.”
The Blue Devils entered Sunday’s matchup on a two-game winning streak, having beaten Rutgers on the road 67-54 on Friday, Nov. 21, and edging Sacred Heart 108-106 in overtime on Monday, Nov. 24. The win over Sacred Heart improved Central’s record to 4-2. The Wildcats, meanwhile, came in at 1-5 after a 69-44 road loss to Western New England on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
The first half started slowly for the Blue Devils, who missed their first five field goals. A putback by Frazier at the 17:09 mark finally opened the scoring for Central, and he went on to score the team’s first eight points, giving CCSU an 8-5 lead with 14:59 left. Five straight points from Smith capped a 12-2 run that extended Central’s lead to 37-16 with 6:29 left. The Blue Devils never let their foot off the gas, heading into halftime up 55-28.
Smith led all scorers at the half with 14 points, while Frazier had already secured a double-double by the break, finishing the opening period with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Both sides traded buckets to begin the second period, but it wouldn’t take long for the Blue Devils to start pulling away. At the 15:03 mark, Smith converted an and-one to stretch Central’s lead to 34 at 74-40. From there, it would all fall apart for the Wildcats, who managed just six points over the next seven minutes as Central pushed the margin to 98-46 with 7:16 remaining. With both benches cleared by that point, the Blue Devils closed things out by outscoring Johnson & Wales 24-11 the rest of the way, winning 122-57.
Spinelli was Central’s second-highest scorer, leading the bench unit that closed out the game. He scored 10 points in the second half and credited his teammates for his performance.
“It felt good, and honestly, it’s felt good all year just because we’re all contributing to winning, and that’s the most important thing … We all really promote each other’s success.”
As one of nine newcomers, Spinelli has leaned on returning players like Smith for guidance, a role Smith embraces after learning from the veterans before him.
“I’ve been here for a long time now. I just learned a lot from the older guys that I had prior to this year, like AJ (Allan Jean-Rose), Jordan Jones and JB (Jayden Brown),” Smith said. “A lot of those guys, they taught me the way.”
Sellers echoed that sentiment when discussing the team’s leadership structure.
“Among the nine new faces, we have six or seven older guys, and the six or seven older guys are really key pieces,” Sellers said. “That starts with Darin Smith … He’s been around some really good guys. He learned how to be a leader and learned how it’s done the right way.”
With the result, Central moved to 5-2 and now has five games remaining before conference play begins. The Blue Devils hit the road for their next three games, starting with a Big East opponent in Seton Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 3, before taking on Northeastern and Binghamton on Sunday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 13, respectively. They return home to face Fairfield on Thursday, Dec. 18, in their final nonconference game.
