CCSU holds on over Mercyhurst, clinches #2 seed in NEC tourney

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Can you believe how fast it's happened?

One week from today, half of the teams in the NEC will be done with their seasons. When you’re in the grind of conference play, it truly can sneak up on you. The best thing you can do is to live in the moment and cherish everything, because before you know it, it's over.

This segues well into Thursday’s clash between a pair of teams vying for the same thing for next week’s festivities. Central Connecticut hosted Mercyhurst in a game in which the winner had the inside track of clinching a Top 2 finish in the league standings, the Blue Devils clinching it with a win, the Lakers controlling their own destiny.

“It’s definitely on our mind before the game,” Darin Smith, Jr. reflected afterwards, showing just how finding a way to pull out a victory would go a long way.

Even with such high stakes for what ultimately is just another Thursday night in the NEC, head coach Patrick Sellers and his group didn’t treat it as such. It showed on the court, as CCSU was able to come out with an 80-78 win behind four double-figure scorers and secure its tournament positioning.

“It was a tough game, they’re a good team that’s very well coached,” Sellers said. “We knew they were going to bring everything that they had with both of us jockeying for the two seed.”

The connection between Jay Rodgers and Max Frazier, perhaps as strong as any point guard and center tandem in the country, was on display right out of the gates. Rodgers hit Frazier with a lob to get the scoring going on the Blue Devils’ first possession. The duo finished with 16 and 17 points, respectively, with Rodgers adding seven assists and Frazier grabbing 13 rebounds.

The first half was pretty back-and-forth, with neither side able to build a lead higher than five points in the first 12-plus minutes. A 10-2 run around the midpoint for Mercyhurst flipped the game, but adjustments from CCSU on defense, particularly implementing a zone, prevented it from getting any larger.

“We kept mixing up the defense from zone to man,” Sellers said. “When we went to man, we got a kill in that segment and it got us over the hump.”

A turnaround jumper from Melo Sanchez answered the Laker run and was the start of a 10-0 spurt for the Blue Devils to take the lead back. During this stretch is where Smith woke up, getting on the board thanks to a three-point play in transition off an Elijah Parker steal. Smith finished the night with a somewhat quiet, at least in terms of the rate in which he usually scores, 24 points, hitting 12-of-13 free throws.

At the half, Central took a 34-30 lead into the locker room while only attempting three 3-pointers, drilling two of them. The game plan was clearly to work inside and try to get high-quality looks around the rim.

“They kept switching everything, and whenever I got a smaller guard on me, I called for the ball,” Frazier said. “I know I can get a bucket when there’s a guard on me.”

Mercyhurst started the second half blisteringly hot, going on an 11-2 run in the first 154 seconds to trigger a quick Sellers timeout. After that, CCSU responded well and took the lead back, 44-43, after a four-point play in the corner from Sanchez. The sharpshooting Sanchez finished with 13 points.

“I called timeout to specifically yell at Max, I thought he came out flat,” Sellers said. “To his credit, he got mad and went out there and guarded, then Melo hit that four-point play and everything started rolling.”

Later on in the half with the score tied at 60, Rodgers hit a beautiful scoop layup to give the Blue Devils the lead with under six minutes to go. Central wouldn’t trail again the rest of the way, with Smith and Frazier serving as the closers. Frazier connected on another lob and Smith iced it at the foul line, sealing the hard-fought 80-78 win.

Both sides were trading baskets left and right down the stretch, something that Sellers and his staff don’t love, but a win is a win. 

“Trading baskets and stuff drives me nuts,” Sellers said. “Sometimes it just takes a lot of grit and the guys saying we can do this.”

For seeding purposes in next week’s NEC Tournament, CCSU will now be the No. 2 seed and potentially host two games should it win in the quarterfinals. The Blue Devils could afford a loss on Saturday in their clash with Saint Francis for Senior Day and still be the No. 2.

The Blue Devils will tip off on Saturday against the Red Flash at 2 p.m. with a pregame ceremony honoring five players: Jay Rodgers, Melo Sanchez, Gabe Spinelli, Nico Ashley and Ja’Kobe Williams.