Central Men Drop Third Straight at Monmouth on Thursday Night

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team dropped its third straight game with a 55-42 loss at Monmouth on Thursday night. With the loss the Blue Devils fall to 4-9 overall and 1-2 in Northeast Conference play. Junior Markeys Deans led the offense with 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Central. The Blue Devils return to action again on Saturday night at Fairleigh Dickinson beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Central led 9-6, but a 9-0 run by the Hawks gave them a 15-9 advantage with 11:47 on the clock. Central went seven minutes without a point during the Hawk run, following a three by sophomore Vince Rosario at 17:23. They went 0-for-6 from the field during that stretch and trailed by six.

The Monmouth run was ended by a pair of Central baskets from junior David Simmons and freshman Joe Efese to make it 15-13. The Hawks answered with seven straight points to take a 22-13 lead with 7:38 on the clock.

Monmouth led 32-23 at the half when Will Campbell banked in a three from 10 feet outside the three-point line at the buzzer. Campbell hit three threes before halftime to led the Hawks. The nine-point lead matched the highest of the game for the Hawks to that point.

Central shot only 30.8 percent, 8-of-26, from the field in the first half and managed only 10 points in the final 10 minutes. Monmouth hit 13-of-29 from the field, 44.8 percent, including 5-of-12 from three. Campbell led the way with 11 in the first half. Central was led by sophomore Robby Ptacek who scored five and grabbed five rebounds.

Both teams started cold from the floor in the second half, combining to make just two of the first 11 shots taken from the floor. A basket by Deans cut the lead to 34-25, but Monmouth answered with their sixth three of the game to take a 37-25 lead at 14:56.

Monmouth stretched its lead to 41-25, and opened the second half with nine of the first 11 points, with 11:55 on the clock. A basket under the basket by Deans and a three from senior Joe Seymore cut the lead to 41-30. The Hawks answered with four straight points to push the lead back to 15. Seymore's second three made it 45-33 with 7:59 left to play.

After Monmouth stretched the lead to 15, the Blue Devils responded with two straight baskets to cut it to 48-37.

The Blue Devils were led offensively by Deans who had a team-high 10 points to go along with seven rebounds. Simmons ended the game with 12 boards, the fourth time this season he has posted 10 or more rebounds in a game.

The Blue Devils were plagued by turnovers the entire game. They had nine in the first half and eight more in the first 10 minutes of the second half. They finished the game with a season-high 20. They outrebounded Monmouth 43-31 in the loss.

The Blue Devils return to action on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on the road at Fairleigh Dickinson.