Senior Ken Horton and Robby Ptacek each scored 30 points, and the Central Connecticut men's basketball team won its fifth straight game, 82-80, in overtime, over Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon. With the victory the Blue Devils move to 5-2 on the season and 2-0 in Northeast Conference play.
Sacred Heart is now 5-4 overall and 1-1 in the NEC.
"We're 2-0 in the conference now, right where we want to be," head coach Howie Dickenman said following the victory. "This league is much improved and getting those first two is important. Now we'll finish non-conference play, and our next two league games will be at home in January."
Horton's 30 marked the first time in his career he has scored 30 or more in back-to-back games. It was his seventh career game with 30 points. He added 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and the 19th of his career.
Ptacek scored 30 for the second time this season. He moved up three spots on the all-time scoring list on the day. He is now 22nd all-time with 1,177 career points. Horton is now two points shy of 1,600 for his career. He moved up to seventh on the all-time list with his 1,598 career points.
A season-high attendance of 2,004 saw Central win its fourth straight at home.
"The crowd definitely helped us out," Horton said. "They were a big boost, gave us the fuel, the fire and the pick up we needed out there. It was fun to have a crowd like that out there today."
Central had taken just six free-throws in regulation, but it was at the line that they would ice the game in the final minutes. Central was 7-of-8 from the line in overtime, including 4-of-4 from Horton and 3-of-4 from Ptacek.
"We work on our free-throws a lot during practice, and it's paying off," Horton said. "It's something we always practice, every day, and we needed to turn that over into the game and we were able to do that today."
The Blue Devils led by as many as 12 in the second half, but the Pioneers used a 27-9 run to take an eight point lead, 64-58, with 5:26 to play in the game.
Five straight points from the Blue Devils, including two free-throws from freshman Adonis Burbage and a three from Ptacek, cut it to one, 64-63 with just over three to play.
The Pioneers took a 68-65 lead with over a minute left, but another three from Ptacek tied the game with 1:10 on the clock, it would be the final points of regulation.
Ptacek scored eight of the 14 points in overtime for the Blue Devils, including another three, as Central would clinch the home victory, their third straight win over Sacred Heart.
Central outrebounded the Pioneers 45-34, including 10 from Horton. Six players had five or more rebounds for the Blue Devils, including eight from junior Joe Efese. He also added a season-high 11 points.
The Pioneers were led by Shane Gibson who had a game-high 32 points. Justin Swidowski added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Blue Devils return to action on Wednesday night on the road at Michigan State, beginning at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU and ESPN3.

July 31, 2012
Men's Hoop Releases Non-Conference Slate

April 14, 2012
Horton's Club Wins Portsmouth Invitational Championship

April 13, 2012
Horton Has Solid Outing at Portsmouth

April 6, 2012
Horton to Attend Portsmouth Invitational

March 1, 2012
Devils Fall in NEC Tourney at Wagner

February 28, 2012
Horton and Vinales Earn Postseason NEC Honors

February 27, 2012
Horton, Vinales Earn NEC Weekly Honors

February 25, 2012
Blue Devils Win Over Wagner; Teams Will Play Again on Thursday

February 23, 2012
Horton's Career Night Leads Blue Devils to Home Win

February 20, 2012
Vinales Earns Seventh Rookie Honor

February 18, 2012
Vinales Goes for 32 in Loss at Robert Morris

February 16, 2012
Men Snap Slide With 65-60 Win at St. Francis (PA)

February 12, 2012
Men's Hoop Falls at Home, 67-59, to Quinnipiac

February 8, 2012
Men's Hoops Drops Third Straight

February 4, 2012
Men Slip to 7-5 in NEC Play with Loss at LIU

February 2, 2012
Blue Devils Fall at SFNY on Thursday

January 28, 2012
Men Top FDU 69-62 on Saturday

January 26, 2012
Men Fall in OT at Home vs. Monmouth

January 21, 2012
Central Falls 62-61 at Sacred Heart

January 19, 2012
Blue Devils Move to 7-1 at Home

January 14, 2012
Men Suffer First Conference Loss

January 12, 2012
Blue Devils 5-0 in NEC After Road Win at Mount

January 9, 2012
Vinales Wins Sixth NEC Rookie Honor

January 7, 2012
Men Now 4-0 in NEC, Top RMU by 15

January 5, 2012
Men's Hoop 3-0 in NEC Play After Home Win

January 5, 2012
Men Look to Move to 3-0 in League Play

January 3, 2012
CCSU and CPTV Sports Announce TV Deal

December 30, 2011
Men Drop Fifth Straight, Lose at UMass

December 30, 2011
Men Back in Action at UMass

December 22, 2011
Blue Devils Lose at Home for First Time

December 22, 2011
MBB Hosts LaSalle at 7 p.m.

December 19, 2011
Vinales Named Rookie of the Week

December 17, 2011
Wildcats Hold Off CCSU, 70-64

December 17, 2011
Blue Devils Take On Northwestern

December 12, 2011
Vinales Makes it Four Out of Five

December 10, 2011
Blue Devils Fall 90-80 at Brown

December 7, 2011
Men Play Tough in Loss at Michigan State

December 5, 2011
Horton Named Player of the Week

December 3, 2011
Men Win Overtime Thriller Over SHU

December 1, 2011
Central Opens Big at Bryant

December 1, 2011
Men Open NEC Play at Bryant on TV Tonight

November 28, 2011
Ptacek, Vinales Earn NEC Honors

November 26, 2011
Blue Devils Fly Past Hawks, 92-58

November 25, 2011
Blue Devils and Hawks at Detrick Gym

November 22, 2011
Two Straight for Men's Basketball

November 21, 2011
Vinales Earns Second NEC Rookie Honor

November 19, 2011
Ptacek Shoots CCSU to Home Win

November 17, 2011
Men's Game at UMass Moved to Dec. 30

November 14, 2011
Niagara Falls and a Rookie of the Week

November 14, 2011
Blue Devils Drop Overtime Thriller

November 11, 2011
Men's Hoop Drops Opener

November 2, 2011
CCSU Third, Horton Named All-Conference

October 31, 2011
CT6 Breakfast Postponed to Nov. 8
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October 17, 2011
Men's Hoop Begins Practice

October 12, 2011
Speech Captures 16th Blue Devil Run

October 4, 2011
Hoops Season Tickets Now On Sale

October 3, 2011
2011-12 Basketball Tip-Off Dinner

September 13, 2011
Men's Hoop Releases 2011-12 Schedule

August 29, 2011
Horton Among Nation's Most Valuable