The Blue Devils collected their seventh win in the Northeast Conference on Feb. 7 against the visiting Wagner Seahawks, 84-67.
It was Central’s third straight home game, coming off a tough loss against LIU, the top team in the conference, and a win against Chicago State.
During the home streak, two Blue Devils were recognized by the conference, as Max Frazier was named an NEC Prime Performer alongside NEC Rookie of the Week Ashton Reynolds.
The game began with equal shooting from both sides, as Darin Smith Jr. opened the game with a field goal and two free throws and Wagner countered with a few 3-pointers as the gap stayed within three points until huge shots from senior guard Jay Rodgers and Frazier extended the lead to 17-12 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half.
Wagner clawed the lead back with multiple shots beyond the arc, but Smith and company stunted any momentum the Seahawks tried to gain, and the first half ended with CCSU comfortably leading by 10 points.
Wagner got the ball to start the second half down 10 and scored the first points to close the gap to eight. Multiple fouls in the first minutes extended the score in Central’s favor, as both Smith and Frazier added to their point totals from the free-throw line. Despite the Seahawks’ best efforts beyond the arc midway through the half, they couldn’t cut the lead down to fewer than nine points as the Blue Devils streaked away.
Smith, Frazier and Rodgers continued to put points on the board as James Jones contributed heavily on the court with 11 rebounds, and the game ended with a 17-point Blue Devils victory.
The win on Saturday was Central’s biggest margin of victory of the calendar year against a conference opponent and its most lopsided win since beating Johnson & Wales University 122-57 in November 2025.
Smith and Frazier both dropped 20-plus points for the third time this season, and the team is 2-1 when they both hit that mark.
Smith mentioned postgame that the team had a lot of energy and that his teammates helped build confidence in him, with Frazier seconding many of his compliments.
Rodgers was an integral piece as well with 14 points and five assists. He spoke on how the team approached Wagner and how it could approach the rest of the season.
“I feel like that’s how Wagner always plays, aggressive,” Rodgers said. “We just weren’t backing down and going into them. We attacked the basket more than we usually do.”
He also talked about the impact the win had on the team.
“It’s big, just for confidence. If we lose a couple in a row, we start questioning ourselves,” he said. “We’re still confident. We feel like we can beat any team in the league, and you gotta be clicking at the right time in March.”
Head coach Patrick Sellers mentioned that the team did a good job organizing minutes in the past few games, especially in comparison to the loss against LIU. He said that making sure no player gets extremely tired during high-intensity matchups is an important piece in game planning.
He also discussed his own coaching strategies and how he has been trying to close out halves better, taking notes from how the team struggled in the late minutes against LIU and comparing that with NBA coaches and how they end quarters defensively.
Sellers was very complimentary about his players, including Frazier and forward Daniel James, who grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists.
“Max is such a dynamic lob threat, but DJ [Daniel James] is a low-to-the-ground type of guy who’s gotten really good at defense,” he said. “We might not have the over-the-rim blocked shots, but we’re really good on defense. We don’t miss a beat with DJ [Daniel James] in there.”
He also spoke highly of Jones.
“You don’t even notice what he does,” he said. “He’s such a good player.”
Wagner shot the ball 20 more times throughout the game compared to Central, and Sellers talked about how they were expecting a bit of that coming into the game.
“They change their lineup every game, but they have a number of guys who average seven or eight points a game,” he said. “They spread around. You have to guard everybody.”
As the season narrows, the Blue Devils are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the NEC with Mercyhurst and Le Moyne. Each team sits at a 7-5 conference record.
CCSU’s next game will be an in-state matchup against the New Haven Chargers on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Jeffrey P. Hazell Athletics Center. The Blue Devils will return home Feb. 19 to host Le Moyne in a crucial game that may determine the second seed in the NEC Tournament.
