CCSU unable to finish job, falls to Saint Francis in heartbreaking NEC title game

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — When Devin Haid’s 45-footer clanked off the rim, the realization finally set in amongst the 3,204 inside of Detrick Gymnasium.

It was over.

After a dominant regular season and perfect run through the Northeast Conference tournament up until that point, suddenly, it didn’t matter any more. Central Connecticut State’s 25 wins, in the moment, felt useless.

“It hurts,” a disappointed Haid said. “I’m sure everyone could feel it.”

The Blue Devils fell to the third-seeded Saint Francis University Red Flash, 46-43, on Tuesday, snapping their nation-leading 14-game win streak, but more importantly, crushing any hopes of the program’s first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2007.

“We had some nerves early and couldn’t get into a flow,” head coach Patrick Sellers said. “We had some open shots early that we just turned down.”

One thing that Central did so well all season long was put points on the board. Every time it broke 60 in NEC play, it found itself in the win column. The 43 points scored by Sellers’ bunch in the championship were a season-low.

“Tonight we didn’t have our A game, or our B game,” Sellers said. “We didn’t take care of the basketball. While we did rebound and defend, we just couldn’t get into an offensive flow.”

Nobody could get anything going for the Blue Devils. The team only had six points in the first 12 minutes of the game, luckily compared to the Red Flash’s eight as both squads were struggling to find the bottom of the net. Haid was the lone Central player to score more than six points with his 14, but it took an inefficient 4-of-16 to get there.

“It was on us not executing,” Haid said. “We needed to put the ball in the hoop and we did a poor job of that.”

Jordan Jones, the NEC Player of the Year, scored four points on 2-of-10 shooting and was benched late in the second half while the Blue Devils were trying to form one final push. None of the starters connected from distance, with all of Central’s 3-of-17 effort from deep coming from reserves.

At the half, the score was tied at 20. This wasn’t uncharted territory for CCSU, as time and time again during their winning streak, the Blue Devils were either down or tied at the half just to explode out of the locker room. 

That explosion didn’t happen Tuesday.

“We never got into a good rhythm,” Sellers said. “When we tied it up, the crowd was going crazy, but we just could never get the lead and settle in.”

The two teams traded buckets all second half, with Central usually being the team to counter Saint Francis, but a triple from Riley Parker broke a 37-all tie. The Blue Devils would get some key points from Haid shortly after to tie it at 41, but a three-point play opportunity for Valentino Pinedo gave the Red Flash the lead with under a minute remaining.

Pinedo missed the free throw, and after Sellers called timeout to draw something up, the coach tagged Joe Ostrowsky with the task of tying the game. The senior delivered with a tough drive to knot it at 43 with 17.5 seconds to play.

Red Flash coach Rob Krimmel elected to let his team play, saying, “they know what to do.” What they did was push it down the floor, and with nine seconds remaining, Daemar Kelly connected on what ended up being a game winning mid-range jumper.

Sellers elected to not call timeout as well, letting his team play out the final nine seconds before an errant pass from Ostrowsky to Haid ended up in the hands of the Red Flash. The rest was history.

“I knew we had a timeout, but I just wanted to go with our older guys and see if we could make a play,” Sellers said. “Also so they couldn’t set up their defense.”

After the Red Flash split a pair of free throws, Haid got a great look from half-court to tie it, as good a look as you could ask for with 1.6 seconds remaining, but couldn’t connect.

“It was a home run play,” Haid said on his last-second effort. “When you’re shooting it from that far, you just have to hope it goes in.”

The loss stings in the moment for CCSU, but soon enough, this year’s team will be remembered for all the success it had. Next year’s team will look a lot different with four of the five starters and two key reserves running out of eligibility, but Sellers has proved time and time again he can adapt and be a force in the conference.

“It’s gonna take a while for these guys to get rid of this bad taste,” Sellers said. “If we have more basketball (NIT or another postseason tournament), you get back on the court and wash it away, but if not, that’s a tough way to end the season.”

As for Saint Francis, it will be hearing its name called on Selection Sunday for the first time since 1991. The Red Flash will look to make it three straight years that an NEC team has advanced in the NCAA Tournament, joining FDU in 2023 and Wagner last season.