With nine seconds remaining in the game, CCSU guard James Jones attempted a tough midrange jumper late in the shot clock. Le Moyne grabbed the rebound and scrambled to push the ball down the court. Jones hustled back and anticipated a pass to the opposite side and deflected the ball out of bounds as the clock hit 0.0. The fans inside Detrick Gymnasium erupted as Central escaped a 78-77 nail-biter.
Blue Devils head coach Pat Sellers had a lot to say about Jones after the game.
“He’s like an unsung hero,” Sellers said. “People don’t really talk about him. He just makes big-time plays late [in] games.”
Sellers also praised Jones’ versatility and described what he means to the team.
“When you look at the stat sheet, it doesn’t pop for you, but everybody knows he does a lot of good things for us,” Sellers said. “He can bring the ball up and get us on offense like a point guard too, so he’s invaluable. We’re really good because of James.”
Coming into Feb. 19’s game, the Blue Devils and the Dolphins were tied at 9-5 in the Northeast Conference standings, so everyone knew how important this game could potentially be and that it could have major NEC tournament implications. The winner would have sole possession of second place in the conference with only three games remaining. What makes the No. 2 seed so important is that it will have home-court advantage in the NEC tournament all the way until the NEC championship game.
Senior guard Melo Sanchez led Central in scoring and dropped a season-high 23 points and tied his season high for 3-pointers made with six. NEC-leading scorer Darin Smith Jr. had an all-around game, scoring 20 points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out four assists and recording two steals.
Sanchez talked about his career night after the game.
“I felt like I had the open shots today, so I took advantage of that,” he said. “So shoutout to my teammates.”
He specifically gave a lot of credit to the coaching staff and is thankful for how they have embraced him.
“It feels good to be at a place where a coaching staff wants you and wants the best for you,” he said. “So today was an example of [that].”
In the first half, Central led by as much as 15 points, but Le Moyne crawled back and brought it to a two-point game. Sanchez helped stop the bleeding with a clutch shot from deep at the buzzer, giving Central a 39-34 lead going into the half.
Sellers said that he emphasizes ending halves the right way, just like NBA teams prioritize finishing quarters correctly, but knew that Le Moyne would eventually make a run.
“We knew they were going to [come back],” he said. “That team [is] a good team, well coached. They were going to keep [at it].”
Two Blue Devils scored in double figures in the first half. Sanchez knocked down three 3-pointers and led CCSU at the half with 11. Smith added 10, and Max Frazier and Jay Rodgers both contributed, with Frazier scoring six points while Rodgers scored five points and dished out four assists.
Central went on an 8-0 (11-0 run counting Sanchez’s buzzer beater in the first half) run to start the second half, and it looked like the game was about to get ugly, but the Dolphins just kept fighting and got it down to a 66-65 deficit with 3:07 remaining in the game.
With the crowd in shock at Le Moyne’s late push, Sanchez knocked down a big 3-pointer while getting fouled, and the fans in the gymnasium went crazy. He calmly stepped up to the free-throw line and knocked down the free throw to complete the 4-point play to give Central a 70-65 lead.
In the next two possessions, both teams traded baskets from beyond the arc. The ball eventually found Sanchez again, and he knocked down his sixth 3-pointer of the game.
Le Moyne once again didn’t back down as Dolphins guard Trent Mosquera (who had a game-high 28 points) knocked down an insane 3-pointer at the top of the key off the backboard and left the crowd silent with only 39 seconds remaining, but Jones and the Blue Devils got the last laugh.
Winning close games isn’t anything new for Sellers and the Blue Devils. They have won nine straight one-point games since Jan. 21, 2022. He attributes it to the early mistakes that he and his coaching staff made and how they have been able to correct them. Sellers is also a huge NBA fan, so when those games reach “clutch time” (the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points), he tries to take some of the attention to detail he sees and apply it to his team.
Another glaring stat was the number of 3-pointers the Blue Devils attempted against the Dolphins. In their three games before, they attempted 11, 16 and 18 3s, respectively, but against Le Moyne they attempted 32 of them (17 in the first half).
Sellers said that it was part of the game plan and knew that his team was going to attempt more 3s than usual due to Le Moyne’s defensive strategy.
“They’re sagging in, they play off and they go under screens, so the open shot for us is the three,” he said. “If you can make a couple, you can really put up a big number [on them].”
Sellers provided an injury update on senior guards Gabe Spinelli and Ja’Kobe Williams and stated that they are both dealing with back injuries and may be out for the rest of the season. They both last played on Dec. 18 in an 84-70 loss to the Fairfield Stags. Both guards averaged at least 14 minutes per game, and Williams even started four games earlier in the season.
CCSU will try to continue to be the hottest team in the NEC and move its streak to six wins as it heads to the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center to take on the Chicago State Cougars on Feb. 21.
