Blue Devils Win Sixth Straight Home Game, 59-55, Over Quinnipiac on Saturday Afternoon

Senior forward Marcus Palmer posted his second straight double-double and the Blue Devils hit 16-of-18 from the free throw line as Central Connecticut topped Quinnipiac 59-55 on Saturday afternoon in New Britain. The win is the sixth straight at home for the Blue Devils and improves their record to 9-10 overall and 5-4 in the Northeast Conference. With the loss the Bobcats drop to 8-11 overall and 4-5 in the league.

Palmer and freshman guard Robby Ptacek scored 16 straight Blue Devil points during a 16-5 run in the second half to help turn a 30-30 tie into a 50-39 advantage with 3:11 left in the second half. Sophomores David Simmons and Ken Horton scored the final two baskets of the run and the Blue Devils had their largest lead of the game.

The Bobcats, however, would not go quietly as they scored seven straight points in just under a minute of action to cut the Blue Devil lead to 52-48 with 1:23 on the clock. The Blue Devils made seven of eight free-throws in the final 1:19 and 16-of-18 for the game to secure the four point win.

Neither team shot the ball well from the field in the first half and CCSU led just 20-16. They combined to make 15-of-51 shots from the floor and just 2-of-15 from behind the three point line.

In the second half it was the Blue Devils who were finally able to run and score some points to take the 11 point lead. The Bobcats spent much of the game using as much of the 35 second shot clock as they could on offense before putting up a shot on the offensive end of the floor. When they finally missed some shots Central Connecticut did what it does so well, score in transition, and opened up the lead.

Central Connecticut had 12 assists in the game and only 12 turnovers. They shot 11-of-21 from the field in the second half including 4-of-7 from three.

Palmer led way with 16 points and 10 boards, his third double-double of the season. He made 3-of-5 from three and is shooting over 50 percent from the behind the arc in league play this season. Horton added 10 including 6-of-6 from the line and Ptacek had 10, all in the second half. He made 3-of-3 from the line in the win. Sophomore guard Shemik Thompson had eight points and Simmons added nine on 4-of-4 shooting. Junior lefty Joe Seymore had six points and seven boards.

The Bobcats had 17 from James Johnson and 12 each from Bryan Geffen and James Feldeine. Justin Rutty had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

The Blue Devils take the road again on Thursday night travelling to Wagner beginning at 7 p.m.