Men's Basketball Wins Fifth Straight, Tops St. Francis (NY) 61-43 on Thursday Night

Junior Robby Ptacek posted his fourth 20 point game of the season as the Central Connecticut men's basketball team won for the fifth straight game on Thursday night, 61-43, over St. Francis (NY). The win improves to the Blue Devils to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in Northeast Conference play. They return to action on Saturday hosting Long Island at 3:30 p.m.

For the second straight game the Blue Devils fell behind 2-0, and after taking their first lead at 4-2, never trailed again in the game. In fact, the Blue Devils have trailed for only 4:57 in the last four victories, all at home. That's out of a possible 160 total minutes.

Ptacek had 25 points for his fourth 20 point game of the season. He had 26 in the win over UMass on Monday, matching his career-high. It's his 11th career game with at least 20 points.

Junior Ken Horton had 10 points and matched his career-high with 14 rebounds. Central outrebounded the Terriers 46-35 in the win. The 46 rebounds were a season-high. Six different players had at least four rebounded in the game.

After falling behind 2-0, the Blue Devils 10 straight to make it 10-2 with 15:14 to play in the first half. They stretched the lead to 17-5 three minutes later. When they led 28-17 with 5:12 left in the half, St. Francis (NY) would never get closer than 11 the rest of the game.

The win is the fifth straight for the Blue Devils who are now 6-0 at home this season.

The defense by the Blue Devils was outstanding in the victory. They held the Terriers to 23.4 percent shooting in the victory, and the Terriers hit only 2-of-21 from three-point land in the loss. They took 64 shots in the game and hit only 15. They also had just six assists.

Central has now won eight straight home games dating back to last season. It's the longest stretch since they won 11 in a row at home during the 2006-07 season.

Ptacek's 25 led the Blue Devils offensively. Horton added 10 and sophomore Joe Efese had eight points, five boards and three blocks. Central had 13 assists in the win, led by three from senior Shemik Thompson.

The Blue Devils return to action on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. hosting Long Island in Detrick Gym.