By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — If you haven’t paid much attention to Central Connecticut State this season, it might be time to.
The Blue Devils trailed by as many as 11 in the early portion of the first half, but still found a way to will out a 73-63 victory over Mercyhurst, their seventh consecutive win in Northeast Conference play.
“They play a hard style of defense and they’re the number-one three-point shooting team in the league,” CCSU head coach Patrick Sellers said in praise of the Lakers. “They’re well coached and you know they’re gonna get better going forward.”
The three point shooting and defense were both on display early for Mercyhurst, but the team was unable to sustain it for the full 40 minutes, allowing the Blue Devils to get back in the game and ultimately pick up the win. Leading the comeback was Jordan Jones, as the senior guard scored 19 points on an efficient 7-of-11 night from the field. It’s been an up-and-down season for Jones, tapped by many as the best player on the team coming into the year, but as of late he’s started to hit his stride again and look like his old self.
“He wants to feed his teammates and get them open shots,” Sellers said of Jones. “When the ball goes in for those guys, it makes him feel comfortable and he’s really good.”
Jones also dished out a Central career-high eight assists, finding open teammates left and right in transition. Two of those eight assists set up a pair of wide open corner threes for Darin Smith, Jr., who connected on three triples and scored 11 points off the bench.
“My coaches tell me all the time that if I get my teammates involved, my game automatically comes (with it),” Jones said. “It’s usually natural for me to get my teammates involved.”
“He sees everybody on the floor,” Smith added. “He’ll see you when you’re open.”
Mercyhurst held a 38-35 lead at halftime, mostly thanks to the strong play of veteran guard and Quinnipiac transfer Bernie Blunt III. Blunt scored 13 points in the first half and finished with a team-high 16 for the game. After the break, it was all CCSU. Jumping out to a quick four point advantage, Laker head coach Gary Manchel burned a timeout. Not even three minutes later, he burned another. The Blue Devils never trailed again once they took the lead back in the second.
“We just made defense our number one mentality,” Jones said. “Also had to keep sharing the ball on offense.”
Credit goes to Mercyhurst for cutting its deficit to as few as four points after Central got the lead to double figures. Right when it looked like the Lakers had momentum, in came Smith to silence the rally. All three of his triples came with less than eight minutes remaining, and after he buried them the game, felt firmly out of reach.
“Smitty is a special player, we just believe in him to make the open shots,” Jones said. “He’s gonna play hard on defense, so we’re gonna reward him on offense.”
Other Blue Devils of note: Jayden Brown scored 16 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and while Devin Haid didn’t have his best scoring game, he still stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
CCSU is back in action on Saturday, when the Blue Devils face off against Saint Francis University at 1 p.m. in New Britain, looking to extend their win streak to eight.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.