Central Connecticut trailed by as many as 18 in the second half
and took a four-point lead with 21 seconds to play but Albany used
a shot with 3.8 seconds on the clock to top the Blue Devils 68-67
on Saturday night. CCSU, now 0-3 on the season, was led by
sophomore forward Ken Horton who scored a career-high 33 points and
grabbed seven rebounds. The Blue Devils play again at home on
Tuesday night at 7 p.m. hosting Binghamton.
The Blue Devils led 67-63 with 21 seconds on the clock after a pair
of free-throws by sophomore Aaron Hall but Albany would respond.
Tim Ambrose, who finished with 24 points, hit a driving layup and
was fouled. He made the free-throw and the Blue Devils turned the
ball over on the inbounds pass. After the Great Danes missed a
shot attempt the Blue Devils inbounded again but turned the ball
over with 10 seconds on the clock.
Ambrose hit the game-winner with 3.8 seconds on the clock to give
Albany the victory. CCSU inbounded the ball but freshman Robby
Ptacek lost control as the clock expired, giving CCSU the one point
loss.
The Blue Devils opened the game leading 6-2 after the first 1:30
but the Great Danes responded with a 15-2 run in the next 3:30
minutes to take a 17-8 advantage in their home opener. A quick 7-1
run by Central Connecticut cut the lead to 18-15 before the Great
Danes scored six straight to lead by nine at 24-15. The Blue
Devils responded with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 28-25 with just
over seven minutes to play in the half.
Albany led 38-29 at the half as the Blue Devils struggled from
the field hitting only 9-of-25 and 0-of-5 from three. The Great
Danes were 15-of-31 from the field and 3-of-8 from three. Horton
had 13 at the break including seven from the free-throw line. The
Blue Devils were 11-of-13 from the line but trailed by nine at the
halfway mark.
The Great Danes opened the second half scoring 11 of the first 13
points to take a 49-31 lead with 15:50 on the clock. The 18-point
lead was the biggest of the game for either team.
A 10-0 run from Central Connecticut cut the lead to 51-43. Horton
scored four and a break-away dunk Hall made it a 10-point game with
11:40 on the clock. Ptacek hit a driving layup to cut it to eight
before an Albany basket stopped the run and made it 53-43 with less
than 10 minutes to play. A three-point play by Horton cut it to
seven at 53-46.
Hall hit a three, the first of the game for the Blue Devils, to cut
the Great Dane lead to 55-49. A Horton three , one by Ptacek and
Horton's 29th points gave the Blue Devils a 59-57 lead with 4:16 on
the clock. The CCSU run reached 28-8 over the span of 10
minutes. The lead was the first for the Blue Devils since it was
6-4 early in the first Half.
Albany tied the game at 59-59 going into the four minute timeout.
Horton scored with 2:12 on the clock to give the Blue Devils back
the two point edge at 63-61. With the game tied at 63-63,
sophomore Shemik Thompson hit a runner in the lane to give CCSU the
two point edge.
Horton led all scorers with 33 points and also grabbed seven
rebounds. CCSU, who missed their first 10 three point attempts,
hit three of their final four attempts in the closing minutes of
the game. Thompson added 12 points and had five assists. It
marked his third straight game with 12 points.
The Blue Devils outrebounded Albany 34-30. Hall had seven points
and five rebounds and Ptacek added nine points in his second career
start.
The Blue Devils return to action on Tuesday night at home against
another member of the America East Conference. CCSU will host
Binghamton at 7 p.m. The game follows a 4 p.m. women's home game
vs. Bryant.
Fans can watch both games live by logging into the mediaCENTRAL
section of CCSUBlueDevils.com and purchasing a subscription for
CCSU men's and women's basketball for the winter season.
