Men's Basketball Held Off at UMass on Sunday

A spirited second half rally ran out of time as the Central Connecticut men's basketball team fell 84-77 at UMass on Sunday at the Mullins Center. CCSU trimmed a 23-point halftime deficit to just five with under a minute to play before the Minutemen were able to hold on for the win.

Darin Smith, Jr. led Central with 18 points, while Jay Rodgers and Nico Ashley each chipped in 15 points. The Blue Devils shot 25-of-54 (.463) overall and 6-of-15 (.400) from three-point range. CCSU was 21-of-31 (.677) from the foul line.

K'Jei Parker led all scorers with 22  points for UMass. The Minutemen shot 31-of-67 (.463) from the field and 10-of-26 (.385) from the arc, while going 12-of-25 (.480) at the foul line.

GAME INFORMATION |  BOX SCORE
Score:  CCSU 77, UMASS 84
Records: CCSU (2-2, 0-0 NEC), UMass (3-1, 0-0 A10)
Location: Mullins Center | Amherst, MA

KEY MOMENTS

• The Blue Devils were held without a field goal for the opening 5:16 of the game as UMass built an early nine-point lead. The Minutemen scored the game's first eight points before a foul shot by Rodgers at the 16:51 mark. Rodgers would score CCSU's first five points and his jumper at the 14:44 mark would make it 12-5.
• A 10-0 run by UMass would push the lead to double-figures. CCSU was held scoreless for over two minutes and the Minutemen would extend their lead to 29-11 with 9:34 to go in the half. The Blue Devils got no closer than 40-26 the rest of the half after a jumper by Smith, Jr. with 2:22 to play. Central was held to just two foul shots, while UMass would build a 51-28 lead going into the intermission.
• Out of halftime, Max Frazier opened play with a jumper that sparked a 10-0 CCSU run. A dunk by Smith, Jr. capped the run to make it 54-43 with 16:42 remaining. The Minutemen would hit a pair of foul shots on the next possession, but they would not make a field goal until 4:25 had elapsed in the second half.
• CCSU would cut the deficit to single digits following a pair of foul shots by Ashley with 14:14 to play. Although the Minutemen pushed the lead back to as many as 14, Central would not go away.
• Trailing 80-66 with just over four minutes to play, Gabe Spinelli converted a layup to begin a eight-point spurt. Following Spinelli's layup, on the next UMass possession, Ashley was called for goaltending, but after a challenge of the call it was changed to a blocked shot. The run was capped off with a three-pointer by Smith to make it 80-74 with 1:39 to play.
• A three-point play by Ashley with 31 seconds left made it 82-77, but CCSU missed a pair of shots and UMass would grab four offensive rebounds to maintain possession and hold on for the win.

NUMBER TO KNOW

0 – There was no lead changes and no ties in the game.

NOTES

• Smith was 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 on three-pointers.
• Rodgers hit a pair three-pointers and added five assists and four rebounds.
• Ashley finished with a personal-best on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, 5-of-8 at the line. He added four rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
• UMass owns a 10-8 edge in the all-time series.

UP NEXT

• CCSU will be back in action on November 21 at Rutgers.

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