Trio of Blue Devils Combine for 53 Points in 10 Point Victory Over Wagner on Thursday

Senior Marcus Palmer and sophomores Shemik Thompson and Ken Horton combined for 53 points as the Central Connecticut men's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 67-57 victory over Wagner on Thursday night. Palmer recorded his fourth career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Blue Devils improved to 6-8 overall and 2-2 in Northeast Conference play. CCSU returns to the road this weekend playing at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The win for the Blue Devils evens their record at 2-2 in league play and is the first for CCSU since a win over Princeton on Dec. 20. They are now 5-1 at home this season and have won five straight by an average margin of over 10 points.

CCSU took the lead right out of the gate using an 18-0 run in a six minute span in the first half to lead 23-7 with 8:30 on the clock. CCSU turned a 7-5 deficit into the 16-point lead and held the Seahawks to 0-for-3 shooting and six turnovers during the run. Wagner, who shot over 50 percent in the first half, responded with a run of their own and would cut it to four at halftime 33-29.

The Seahawks cut it to two, 35-33, early in the second half but another Blue Devil run made it 43-33 with 15:04 left in the game. Wagner would not get closer than nine for the rest of the game and the CCSU lead would reach as much as 17. A feed inside by sophomore Aaron Hall to Horton led to a dunk and made it 58-41 with 7:53 on the clock.

Central Connecticut, who shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor in the game, had 14 assists and only 11 turnovers in the game, just one off their season-best of 10. They also posted a season-high 10 steals in the game including five by Thompson.

CCSU scored 26 points off of 18 Wagner turnovers in the win.

Horton led the way with his 12th career game with 20 or more points. He scored 21 and also grabbed five rebounds. Thompson scored a season-high 17 points, grabbed three rebounds and had five assists to go along with his five steals. Palmer posted his first double-double of the season, the fourth of his career, with a season-best 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Blue Devils return to action on Saturday night at Fairleigh Dickinson beginning at 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on CCSUBlueDevils.com and also on the ESPN CCSU Radio Network on ESPN Radio 1410 in Hartford and ESPN Radio 1300 in New Haven.