UConn pulls through without Karaban for big win against Baylor

Liam McNeeley celebrates after 3-pointer in second half as his 17 points helped UConn defeat Baylor Wednesday. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball) 

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

STORRS, Conn. — Every year in college basketball, it seems some of the best matchups of the season are in conference challenges that most major leagues participate in. On Wednesday alone, Auburn visits Duke, Alabama visits UNC and Kansas visits Creighton.

One game that had been circled since it was announced in April was the matchup in Storrs Wednesday, as the 15th-ranked Baylor Bears made the trek up north to take on No. 25 UConn, two programs who combined to win three of the past four national championships squaring off in the first week of December.

One may have expected this matchup to be higher ranked than No. 15 vs. No. 25, but each squad has had its struggles early on. Fortunately for UConn, those struggles subsided for a night as the Huskies defeated Baylor, 76-72, to pick up their first power conference win of the season.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a team that has the chance to have as great a season that needed a game more than today,” Dan Hurley said.

Injuries played a factor for both sides. For UConn, Alex Karaban missed his second straight game while in concussion protocol after going down in Maui. For Baylor, star freshman VJ Edgecombe was out with a hamstring injury and Duke transfer Jeremy Roach entered concussion protocol himself early in the second half, thereby being rendered unavailable for key minutes.

“We really only played seven guys,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “These kinds of games don’t hurt you if you lose.”

With the stars out, it meant the other guys had to step it up. For UConn, that was Liam McNeeley. The freshman scored 17 points with some clutch threes to lead the Huskies to victory.

“Liam McNeeley, you’re one of the best freshmen in the country. Go out and let it fly and play with some swagger,” Hurley said.

“We just showed what we’re capable of, even without our captain,” McNeeley said. “There was definitely some pressure after what happened in Maui, but that won’t happen again.”

Defensively, the Huskies had their best performance against a major opponent all season, anchored by McNeeley, who blocked three shots. Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed, Jr. each blocked two and gave Baylor big man Norchad Omier a difficult night inside.

“We needed every single one of us to step up big,” Johnson said. “I had to go out there and just be me.”

The center tandem also had a productive night on the offensive side of the ball. Johnson had a season high 13 points and didn’t miss a field goal (4-for-4). Reed, Jr. had nine points and some tough finishes against some talented interior defenders. Also, for the first time this season, Hurley played his two centers together on the floor at the same time. Johnson and Reed, Jr. played eight or nine minutes at the same time to counter the two Baylor bigs, Omier and Josh Ojianwuna.

“For this game, it was necessary,” Hurley said. “They play big so much. Samson was plus-18 in a game we won by four. He played his absolute heart out today.”

One player that hasn’t exactly earned the trust of UConn fans, per se, early on in the season, has been Aidan Mahaney. The Saint Mary’s transfer came off the bench and made an instant impact to help pull UConn back in it. He found Jayden Ross for a fastbreak dunk off a steal, and soon after, splashed a pair of triples to give him a quick six. He finished with nine points as he added another three in the second half.

“I thought Aidan Mahaney saved us today,” Hurley said. “He got the crowd going.”

“Not the most desirable start for my career here so far,” Mahaney said. “But I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

The Huskies trailed by as many as 11 in the first half before clutch shots from both Mahaney and Solo Ball clawed the team back quickly. A pair of free throws from Johnson early in the second half put the Huskies in front for good, even though the Bears never went away.

“This is a team that is a work in progress,” Hurley said. “A lot of these teams don’t have developing freshmen and developing sophomores on the floor. I have to coach them with more grace.”

Foul trouble was the name of the game in Storrs for both teams, but especially Baylor. Omier and Jalen Celestine fouled out, while Ojianwuna and Langston Love each had four. For UConn, its ability to win a game against a quality opponent without Karaban may be the most important part of the win.

“Where we’ve been, it’s such a feeling that we’re so unaccustomed to here,” Hurley said. “It was the first fun locker room we’ve been in after a game. They reached down deep and played an honorable game.”

The Bears never gave up until the final buzzer, but Hassan Diarra sank a pair of free throws with four-tenths of a second left on the clock to clinch the four-point victory.

“We had a great game plan and a great scout,” McNeeley said. “I was very confident we were going to get the win today. No one in the world could tell me we weren’t.”

McNeeley had the joy of playing against former Montverde Academy teammate Robert Wright, who led Baylor with 22 points in the win.

“We’ve been talking about the matchup for a while,” McNeeley said. “But we didn’t talk at all before the game. I didn’t text him. He didn’t text me.”

The schedule doesn’t lighten up for the Huskies any time soon, as the next two games are on the road in Austin against Texas and a neutral-site clash with Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden. Those games are crucial for the Huskies after what happened in Maui, but tonight against Baylor was the perfect step in the right direction.

Winthrop fends off Queens in second installment of regional rivalry

Winthrop guard Nick Johnson scored 20 in the Eagles' Tuesday victory at Queens.  (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics)

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CHARLOTTE – We’ve all heard the phrase, “to the victor go the spoils.” What about the cookies, though?

More on that in a bit.

Given the 23 miles and 30 minutes – okay, in Charlotte traffic, maybe more like an hour – between Winthrop Coliseum and Queens’ Curry Arena, it makes sense for the Eagles and Royals to play on a regular basis. The sides did so for the second time since Queens’ ascent to Division I on a frigid Tuesday night in Charlotte.

In a fun, back-and-forth contest that featured lots of offense, Winthrop fended off numerous Queens charges in the second half and shot greater than 59 percent in the final 20 minutes to get past the Royals, 86-78.

“(Queens) is a hard place to play,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said after the game. “They’re very well-coached, they play really hard, and they’re talented. They have wonderful kids, too. We knew it was going to be a one-or-two-possession game. That’s how it always is.”

Queens (3-5) took the lead early in the contest, leading by as many as four after a Chris Ashby triple during the opening segment. Winthrop (7-3) quickly grabbed a lead it would not relinquish, however, using a 14-3 run to take a 21-12 lead on a Paul Jones three. Winthrop grew that lead as high as 11 – only for Queens to charge back on the strength of a 12-4 run that sliced the Eagle advantage to just three with 1:24 remaining in the first half. The visitors took a 40-35 margin to the interval, with both sides nearly even from the floor in the opening stanza.

“I felt like that was probably one of our best offensive games on the season,” Queens guard Bryce Cash said. “We got the shots we wanted. We got in the paint. We got kickouts. That made it easier for us to score.”

As for the defense, well…

“I’d say that was probably our worst defensive performance,” Cash said. “We’ve got practice tomorrow and practice the rest of the week to get better. That’s our main focus for now.”

After the Eagles ran their lead back to eight early in the second half, Queens again answered.  Another Ashby three, paired with two Asjon Anderson free throws, quickly knifed the Eagle lead to three. The run was again short-lived, as Winthrop countered with a 9-2 run that again extended the margin to 10.

From there, a pattern formed.

Queens rallied. The Royals cut the lead to three. The Eagles answered. The Royals rallied. The Eagles responded.

“I thought we had the chance to break them late in the second half,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said after the game. “We just didn’t finish a couple shots. Overall, I was happy offensively. I didn’t think that was why we lost the game. We let them shoot 59 percent in the second half. That was really the difference in the game.”

To Leonard’s point, the Eagles missed just 11 shots in the second half. Five of those came from distance. Also to Leonard’s point, the Royals shot 50 percent in the final 20. Queens also dropped 45.5 percent (5-for-11) from beyond the arc in the second half. It also bears mention that Winthrop went to the line 23 times in the second half – hitting a mere 13 – to Queens’ nine trips in the period.

“That should be enough,” Leonard said of his team’s second-half performance. “A couple loose balls and a couple free-throw box-outs that we just didn’t get were key in the game.”

Leonard also referenced the free throw situation.

“Both teams being in the bonus at the under-13 mark (of the second half) paralyzed the pace of the game.” Leonard said. “The players were not sure of what to do. I always appreciate the effort the officials put in, but I’m not sure they were talking to each other and on the same page in this game.”

Winthrop shot 34 free throws in the game, the second-most by a Division I opponent in Curry Arena despite being just the fourth-most the Eagles have tried in a contest. The 21 makes by the visitors were also the fourth-most in an Eagle outing this year.

The visitors shot 49.2 percent (30-for-61) in the game, including the sizzling second-half effort. Four Eagles scored in double figures, including 20 from guard Nick Johnson. Johnson hit 7-of-12 from the deck (2-for-5 from three) and 4-of-7 from the line. Point guard Kasen Harrison booked 15 on 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from the line. Forward K.J. Doucet added 13, while guard Ryan Jolly tallied 11 in reserve duty. All-Big South forward Kelton Talford battled foul trouble and was limited to 22 minutes and seven points. Forward/center Tai Hamilton played 17 minutes off the bench spelling Talford, scoring nine points on 4-for-5 from the field.

“He was fantastic,” Prosser said. “We have a depth of talent, and at different times, it presents itself. (Tai) felt that way today. It was awesome to see. We’ve seen it in practice. Today, hopefully, is a building block for him. He works extremely hard. He’s a great kid. He fits what we do really well. When hard work meets great kids with great work ethic, it’s a lot of fun for us to enjoy.”

Queens connected on 45.9 percent (28-for-61) from the field, including 35 percent (9-of-26) from deep. The Royals hit just 13-of-24 from the line. Ashby paced the home side with 20 on 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-12 from the field. Forward Leo Colimerio turned in 14 on 5-for-8 shooting, with Cash contributing 13 on 5-for-6. Jaxon Pollard was the fourth Royal in double figures, with 11 in 25 minutes off the bench.

“I was finding my open looks and keeping the ball moving,” Ashby said of his performance. “I tried to make the defense break down.”

Listening to the coaches after the game, it was clear that while they like playing this game, they may not like playing the game. Coaches always assess their opponents, but it was clear Prosser and Leonard knew the value of the game despite knowing the battle they both faced.

“It’s really important (to play games like these),” Leonard said. “I appreciate that Winthrop is willing to play us here at home every other year, and having that series and regional opponent matters. We have a long-term contract with them. Hopefully we can get more teams on that train.”

“There are a lot of things about this game that make sense,” Prosser said. “This is a league game – basically – for us. Hopefully it’s a league game – basically – for them. To go on the road in a hostile environment, to be in a place where they’re extremely talented and making plays and it’s back-and-forth, that helps both teams. It’s going to be a great game for us. It’s two storied programs with great tradition playing against each other.”

Prosser may have summed it up the most succinctly, though.

“We’re fortunate to be able to get out of here with a win. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to worry about them for another year.”

Oh – about those cookies?

Winthrop has a tradition of what it calls “snack time” after road victories. What is the Eagles’ leader’s go-to snack?

“I’ve been going with Nutter Butters for the last couple,” Prosser said. “As an entire program, we’re all fired up for snack time. I’m going to stay with the Nutter Butters. I think they’ve been good for me.”

𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐖 = 𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 🍫🍪

Pulled up to @QuikTrip for a little grub after the win! #ROCKtheHILL pic.twitter.com/R61rA1k20G

— Winthrop Basketball (@Winthrop_MBB) December 4, 2024

WINTHROP 86, QUEENS 78

WINTHROP (7-3)

Jones 2-6 1-2 7, Talford 3-10 1-4 7, Johnson 7-12 4-7 20, Harrison 5-8 5-6 15, Doucet 4-8 5-7 13, Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Jolly 3-6 4-5 11, Diallo 0-0 0-0 0, Kamarad 0-0 0-0 0, Hamilton 4-5 1-3 9, Baker 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 30-61 21-34 86.

QUEENS (3-5)

Mathews 1-3 0-0 2, Cash 5-6 3-4 13, Ashby 7-14 1-1 20, Colimerio 5-8 3-5 14, Wilson 0-3 1-7 1, Mann 2-2 1-1 7, Jabriel 0-1 0-0, Nevill 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 1-8 2-2 4, Pollard 5-11 1-2 11, Berman 2-5 1-2 6. Totals 28-61 13-24 78.

Halftime:  Winthrop 40-35. 3-Point goals:  Queens 9-26 (Ashby 5-12, Colimerio 1-3, Mann 2-2, Jabriel 0-1, Anderson 0-5, Pollard 0-2, Berman 1-1), Winthrop 5-18 (Jones 2-4, Johnson 2-5, Doucet 0-3, Wilson 0-1, Jolly 1-3, Baker 0-2). Fouled out:  Wilson (QUC)  Rebounds:  Winthrop 43 (Talford 9), Queens 36 (Pollard 8). Total fouls:  Queens 28, Winthrop 22. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Winthrop 17, Queens 15.  Points in the paint:  Winthrop 50, Queens 36. Second-chance points:  Winthrop 14, Queens 7.  Fast-break points:  Winthrop 9, Queens 7.  Bench points:  Queens 28, Winthrop 24.

 

King Rice not ready to throw in towel, readjusts after Monmouth’s 0-8 start

King Rice and Monmouth players celebrate after Hawks’ upset of Seton Hall, the 10th high-major win of Rice’s tenure. (Photo by Gary Kowal/Monmouth Athletics)

Win or lose, King Rice will always say whatever is on his mind, regardless of setting.

Sometimes, after a particularly agonizing Monmouth loss, Rice’s candor can get taken out of context and weaponized against him. When his Hawks have more palatable results, Saturday’s win at Seton Hall—the program’s first of the season, first-ever against the Pirates and 10th against a Power 5 program in Rice’s tenure—being the latest example, the honesty becomes more refreshing and offers a clearer glimpse into an oft-misunderstood but committed champion to the simple cause of doing right by his players.

“We were 0-8 and we needed a win so badly,” Rice remarked after Monmouth held Seton Hall to 51 points Saturday. “We haven’t been able to practice because our schedule’s crazy, and this week, we had a whole week of practice. I had a whole week of just getting these guys focused on Seton Hall…everything they run, all the stuff that they do. And then we just got better this week. But my kids, our record being 0-8, was on me, alright? And the thing we’re not gonna do is we’re never gonna hang our heads. We’re gonna stand there like men. I have a great group of men in my locker room.”

Monmouth, no stranger to playing non-conference schedules whose difficulty and arduous nature rival those played by some of the most successful names in the sport, upped the ante with one of its more aggressive slates this season. With trips to Michigan State, Rutgers, Wichita State and Seton Hall all within the first month of the year, and visits to Princeton and Auburn to come, Rice did not shy away from the sheer reality that his program needed the money from those guarantee games to survive. Even for a well-endowed mid-major like Monmouth, the ever-expanding chasm between the haves and have-nots is making life more adverse, but the veteran coach and former Dean Smith point guard now in his 14th year at the reins in West Long Branch is navigating the bumps in the road deftly and with a vision that allows him to confidently steer the ship despite the lack of wins in comparison to losses.

“I scheduled too hard this year for our group,” Rice conceded. “They didn’t deserve to have to go to all these places, but that’s what we had to do this year. Everybody’s laughing, everybody’s pointing the finger, everybody’s got something to say about something. And I just kept telling these guys, if we stick together, we’ll be right by the time we have to be right. We have a young group in our locker room. As the leader of the program, you have to keep their heads in a good place, and I’ll tell you like I told my boss: When we lost by 30 to Temple, I was too hard on my kids. It was about four or five days of me just frowned up, too hard on them. That led to how we played at Northern Illinois, and then after that, we had hard games. We should have won at Wichita, we didn’t make our free throws. Now we had practice time, and we got our first win.”

“It’s our job to keep their heads up, and it should get us super excited about another opportunity. It should make them believe what we’re trying to tell them, because you start questioning things when you’re 0-8. And I think with these guys playing the way they did, they’ll start believing in themselves again because they’ve been questioning things too.”

Abdi Bashir is living proof. The sophomore, son of a Somalian refugee, has taken the mantle as Monmouth’s leading scorer following the graduation of Xander Rice. After a productive showing on the Hawks’ summer trip to Italy, the 6-foot-7 wing scored 38 points and set a school record with ten 3-pointers at Rutgers on November 15th before reprising the high-volume role with 28 points in the Seton Hall win. Bashir will no doubt be a target for higher-level schools in the transfer portal in the offseason, a fact Rice acknowledged on more than one occasion in November, but is focused on the present and appreciating his time with a coach who has already made a difference on and off the floor.

“I say this all the time, he believes in me more than I believe in myself,” Bashir said of Rice. “When I first got here, I told him that I wanted to change my family’s lives, and he pushes me to that standard every single day. Obviously, it’s good hearing that he has that confidence in me, but I don’t want to put no time limit on my time with him because nobody else is gonna have me like he got me. He’s probably the best coach I’ve ever had. He’s just a player’s coach. He loves me, he brings me around the family…Julian (Rice’s youngest son) is like my little brother, Zander’s like my older brother and (King is) like a father to me.”

“I’m not just a basketball guy,” Rice said, recalling a promise he made to Bashir’s mother that he would make sure Abdi attended weekly mosque services in accordance with his mother’s request that he continue to affirm his Islamic faith. “I’m here to help their lives. And he knows I know he could have left this year, and he stayed for hardly no money. He ain’t got no check from me yet, no one has, not one dude on my team. We know what’s coming at the end of the year. Everybody get in line, it’s cool. We’re cool with it. But leave him alone right now, so he can be the kid he’s supposed to be, so he can be the guy that can take care of his family after this. Don’t call him now and tell him he should leave tomorrow. Let kids be kids.”

In addition to Bashir, Jaret Valencia is returning to the form that earned him preseason all-conference plaudits before hernia surgery shelved him for the first week of the season. And now in his junior season, Jack Collins has continued to be the Hawks’ glue guy as the Manasquan native is regaining his confidence and shooting touch after Rice admitted he was not getting his guard the shots he needed.

“I’m such a big fan of Jack Collins because he does all the dirty work, always,” the coach gushed. “And Jack hasn’t been getting clean looks this year. That’s bad coaching on my part. Abdi gets looks and Abdi can create them, but I wasn’t getting Jack enough looks, okay? Earlier in the year, we were shooting too quick. Jack would get it if we don’t shoot so fast. Now we’re slowing down, we’re screening, we’re making people play defense longer, and all of a sudden, the defense makes a mistake and Jack gets four or five open ones, and everybody in the building knew they were going in. It takes a while to get everybody on the right page. I want to shoot, too, and every kid wants to. My teams always get better as we go along, and maybe I’ll get smarter.”

Rice’s persistence in staying the course will help a 

Monmouth team that will make its hay in Coastal Athletic Association play, where the Hawks were picked eighth in the 14-team league’s preseason poll. Whatever does happen, one thing is certain, that being a coach who has learned once again to reevaluate himself for the benefit of his team.

“I’m not the happy guy when I’m losing, guys,” Rice reiterated. “I’m not that cool to be around, and I have to change that and be the right leader for my group. When they need me to get after them, I get after them. When they need me to calm down and love on them, that’s what I’m going to do. Whatever it takes for your kids, you gotta do it, and I’ve been so fortunate to have a great group for a long time.”

“To be somewhere for 14 years means a lot of people care about you. I love this place, I’m doing everything I can to make us the best program that I can do. We’re gonna keep fighting. I love this group. Support this group, because we can hoop too. These kids stayed for a very little bit of money because they trusted me and my staff, and they know we’re gonna get them right for their future, whenever that comes. They’ll be better for it because they spent that time with us.”

Terriers win battle on glass, knock off North Alabama

Dillon Bailey’s 18 points led three Wofford players in double figures Sunday as Terriers crushed North Alabama. (Photo by Mark Olencki/Wofford Athletics)

By Jordan Ferrell (@FerrellonFM983)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Since losing to Presbyterian back on November 13, Wofford has not fared much better as far as its overall record is concerned.

The Terriers got popped on the road at Duke three days later, then rebounded with an 81-73 win over St. Thomas in the opening game of the Cream City Challenge in Milwaukee before ending Thanksgiving week with back-to-back close losses in as many days, falling 76-74 to Milwaukee and 79-74 to Portland State. 

“If I'm being 100 percent honest, I thought it didn't go our way because I don't think we made it go our way,” said Wofford head coach Dwight Perry. “The game honors toughness and we say that a lot. I don't think we were particularly tough, especially down the stretch on either side of the ball against Milwaukee and Portland State. We didn't take care of the ball or get stops, and we didn't rebound. That's really the biggest thing we talked about over this week. We're doing a great job offensively making shots, but we have to keep taking care of the ball. That's tough. We have to defend better as a unit. That's also tough. Most importantly, we have to finish those defensive possessions with tough and physical rebounding. Obviously that is also tough. And I thought we did a great job of that today.” 

The Terriers most definitely did rebound the ball well and defend with physicality in their return to Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium Sunday afternoon, as they hosted the University of North Alabama Lions (5-3 overall) in the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between the two schools. 

Wofford got off to a slow start offensively, which allowed UNA to start the game on a 4-0 burst. Jackson Sivills, who returned to the starting lineup after missing each of the last two games in Milwaukee, got the scoring started for the Terriers at the 18:20 mark. About a minute later, Anthony Arrington, Jr. drained Wofford’s first three-pointer of the game to give the hosts the lead.

Heading into the first media timeout, the Terriers seemed to have finally found a stride on the offensive side of the ball, having opened up an 8-6 lead after Dillon Bailey got on the board with his first triple of the game. From that point on, Wofford took complete control of the game and never looked back, extending to an 18-3 tear ahead of the next stoppage to up the advantage to 18-7. Bailey logged his third straight game scoring in double figures, with 18 points to lead the way for Wofford. 

“Dillon brings a lot to the table for this team,” Perry said. “He has experience, leadership, and tenacity with a great personality that's infectious to our whole team. Obviously all of those are non-basketball related, but when it comes to basketball, he's a really skilled, smart player who is tough, can guard the ball, and understands angles. His ability to read the defenses and make great plays for us right now that, while not sexy, are simple and effective, is really helping our team be better.”

Bailey’s performance was part of a second consecutive game with three different players scoring in double digits for the Terriers. Corey Tripp finished the night with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Kyler Filewich logged 11 with nine boards and a pair of assists. Sivills ended up just short of being the fourth on that list, tallying nine points. 

Although the offense was effective enough, shooting just shy of 50 percent from the floor as a team, the key difference for the Terriers was their defense. Wofford had several periods where North Alabama could have gotten back in the game, with multiple scoreless streaks in the second half. Despite that, the Lions could never pull any closer than within 16 points, due to Wofford’s imposing presence off the glass. The Terriers out-rebounded UNA, 45-25, with 30 of those rebounds coming on the defensive side of the ball. Tripp and Filewich alone combined for 18 boards. That was enough to hold the Lions at bay so the Terriers could get several spurts of offense and keep the game out of reach, as Wofford clawed its way to a 74-54 win, its third victory of the season. 

“I thought our ability to rebound the ball really helped us”, said Perry of his team’s effort on the glass. “But, going forward, we have to continue to fight for great shots. But, by far the most important thing we have to get better at is taking care of the ball. We still had 14 turnovers tonight. We did a better job in the first half, but we have to take care of the ball better over the course of 40 minutes consistently for us to continue to have success.” 

Wofford, now 3-5 overall, will look to build on its success in this game on Wednesday, as the Terriers host Gardner-Webb. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Smith shines as CCSU holds off UMass Lowell for second straight win

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — After sitting out his true freshman season last year as a redshirt, Darin Smith, Jr. wasn’t too sure what his role was for Central Connecticut State and head coach Patrick Sellers heading into the season. 

“I worked a lot last year and learned from the older guys,” Smith said.

Smith’s role has been larger than even he could have expected. After starting the opener against Providence in his first college game, he has since been the sixth man on a deep Blue Devil team looking to make a run towards back-to-back Northeast Conference regular season titles. Even through just seven career games, Smith has looked like a veteran on the court with his poise and confidence scoring the basketball.

On Sunday, he led the Blue Devils to a 69-67 win over fellow New England foe UMass Lowell to put CCSU back over .500 on the season in a game that almost slipped away.

“We have some older, talented guys that do good things,” Sellers said. “We can’t allow them to let up. We have to stay on these guys constantly. Our staples are rebounding, defending and taking care of the basketball.”

“We work every day on late-game scenarios,” Smith added. “I feel like we stayed at it, played defense and dug out the win.”

Smith scored 14 points off the bench to lead the team in scoring and was aggressive on the defensive end, using his length to disrupt the Riverhawks’ offensive flow. Joining the Springfield native in double figures were Abdul Momoh and Devin Haid. Momoh finished with 13 points and six rebounds, scoring back-to-back key buckets down the stretch when the Blue Devils were trailing late. Haid had some nice finishes inside off the glass and had a team-best eight rebounds.

“We have a number of guys who can put the ball in the hoop,” Sellers said. “We got a whole roster here that can do some things.”

On a night where Jordan Jones couldn’t get anything to drop, it was critical for the supporting cast to step it up. Jones shot 2-of-11 from the field and had some ugly misses, but stayed composed and impacted the game in other ways, such as his team-best five assists.

The Blue Devils were in control for a majority of the game up until around the midway point of the second half. Their biggest lead was up to 13 points early in the frame, but they hit a wall offensively and were searching for answers.

That answer was Momoh.

“He’s important to our team,” Smith said. “He’s our big man and we need him to play like that every game.”

Momoh scored seven straight Blue Devil points to put his team from tied at 60 to up five at 67-62. A late push from the Riverhawks, something UMass Lowell has done multiple times this season, ultimately came up short, and the Blue Devils had a hard-fought two-point victory.

“We knew they were going to hang and hang,” Sellers said. “You knew they were going to make a run, so our guys knuckled up on defense.”

UMass Lowell big man Max Brooks had a day to remember, scoring a season-best 29 points and starting the game 10-for-10 from the field before finishing 11-of-14. Brooks gave the CCSU big men trouble all game long.

“We let him catch the ball too easily,” Sellers said. “With Brooks, they fed him and he got into the post a lot against us.”

Up next for Central Connecticut State is a road clash with UMass in Amherst on Wednesday.