The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils clinched the No. 2 seed in the Northeast Conference tournament with a win against the Mercyhurst Lakers, 80-78.
Central is coming off a difficult defeat at Chicago State, who snapped the Blue Devils’ five-game winning streak.
Mercyhurst managed to get the better of Central last time they faced off in a 79-61 win at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
Head coach Patrick Sellers and his team rallied together to come through with an all-important win in a close game between both sides.
The game started with the Blue Devils attacking the paint, using the dynamism between Jay Rodgers, Darin Smith Jr. and Max Frazier to get important points on the board early on.
The game plan for Sellers and his men was to close out Mercyhurst’s Bernie Blunt III, Jake Lemelman and Qadir Martin, with Lemelman and Martin combining for 45 points in their victory against the LIU Sharks.
Both teams played some dogged defense, with a low volume of perimeter shooting from the Blue Devils and the Lakers.
Mercyhurst found its stride in the middle of the first half. However, guard Melo Sanchez came up with some big buckets from 3-point range to close down Mercyhurst’s lead.
As the first half came to a close, it was a defensive stalemate for both teams in a low-scoring half, with the majority of points coming in and around the paint. The halftime score was merely 34-30, with the Blue Devils in a slim lead.
The Lakers came flying out of the traps in the second half, stamping their authority on the second half early.
A big four-point play from Sanchez set the rhythm for Central to hone back into the game.
A game played in transition, hustling each possession, going back and forth with endless lead changes, both defenses were up against it.
As the second half wore on, Rodgers put on a show in the closing stretch with some crucial plays and points to push the Blue Devils toward the finish.
The game drew to a close with the Blue Devils shutting down Mercyhurst’s momentum to close out strong in the final stages of the game.
Postgame, Smith, who posted his 15th 20-point game this season, talked about whether he planned to play differently because of the Blue Devils’ previous loss at Mercyhurst this year.
“We just play the same way every game, but it was definitely on our mind heading into the game,” he said. “We had our game plan and executed.”
Smith said the coaching staff helped the team cohesion in the latter stretch of the calendar.
“They run a really tight offense. A lot of screens, it’s hard to guard,” he said. “They all get involved in offense. [..] After the game we lost, the coaches stayed positive.”
Rodgers and Frazier spoke about how they bounced back from their ‘frustrating’ loss on the road, following their good run of form.
“We tried to take away their main two guys, and that led to more of an opening for the other guys. It’s definitely tiring guarding them, but when we needed to get stops we got stops,” Frazier said.
Rodgers agreed with Frazier’s points and also mentioned how the coaching staff was a huge help with the team and how each player connected with each other.
“The biggest thing is that we have 10 new guys. We’re jelling at the right time, and we’re starting to know guys’ roles and stuff like that. We’re just figuring it out,” Rodgers said.
Sellers was positive about the win and had good things to say about his “high-level” opponent, on a game day he described as “Lock-Down Thursday.”
“We knew it was gonna be a tough game. We knew they were gonna bring everything they had,” he said.
Sellers explained the differences in gameplay between the first and second meeting, noting that the team “didn’t have a lot of energy the first time we played,” specifically noting the road trip from a game at Saint Francis right before, coupled with a broken-down bus on the way there.
He emphasized “offensive intelligence” and what the team can do to prevent scoring on the other side of the ball, in particular describing a concept he called “the kill.”
“Trading baskets, it drives me nuts. We talk a lot about three stops in a row, and we call that a kill. They run a ton of really good offense, they just run full speed and you can’t relax,” he said. “If you relax for one second in that possession, they’re gonna beat you with some kind of drive to the hoop or open shot.”
Although LIU still remains top of the conference, three games clear of the now second-place Blue Devils, it’s a dogfight in the middle of the standings, which Sellers talked about.
“Last year was so special. Everybody in the league thinks the league is so even, anything could happen in this next go-around,” he said. “It’s gonna be a really even tournament.”
Central’s final home game of the year will be on Saturday, Feb. 28, against Saint Francis.
