Men's Basketball Wins Going Away at Rutgers, 67-54
The Central Connecticut State men's basketball team took down its second power conference team in a row, claiming a 67-54 win over Rutgers on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. CCSU did not trail in the second half and led for nearly 32 minutes in the game to earn the program's first win over a Big Ten school.
Darin Smith, Jr. led Central with a season-high 21 points, while Max Frazier added 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Jay Rodgers was 3-for-3 on three-pointers and finished with 15 points. The Blue Devils shot 24-of-61 (.444) overall and 9-of-21 (.429) from three-point range. CCSU was 10-of-14 (.714) from the foul line.
Tariq Francis had 19 points to lead Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights shot 21-of-58 (.362) from the field and just 5-of-19 (.263) from the arc, while going 7-of-10 (.700) at the foul line.
GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE
Score: CCSU 67, RUTGERS 54
Records: CCSU (3-2, 0-0 NEC), RU (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
Location: Jersey Mike's Arena | Piscataway, NJ
KEY MOMENTS
- The Blue Devils went toe-to-toe with Rutgers from the start and after falling behind by their largest deficit of the night at 17-13, would go on a 13-0 run. Frazier scored the opening four points of the run and after a three-pointer by Smith, Jr., Rodgers would hit back-to-back treys to put CCSU ahead, 26-17, with 7:43 to go in the opening period.
- Rutgers would get within 26-25 following eight straight points, but a jumper by Rodgers would snap the spurt for the home squad. CCSU would take a 32-28 lead into the intermission following a pair of foul shots by Ja'Kobe Williams.
- Central opened the second half with an alley-oop from Rodgers to Frazier and then James Jones came up with a steal and a three-pointer to push its lead to 37-28 just over a minute into the period. RU followed with a three-point play, but a jumper by Smith, Jr. and a three-pointer by Melo Sanchez would push the lead to double-digits at 42-31 with 17:38 remaining.
- The Blue Devils would lead throughout the second half and answered the Scarlet Knights' late charge. RU would cut the deficit to 50-47 with 7:14 left, but CCSU quickly responded with a Rodgers trifecta to spark a run of 11 unanswered points. Rodgers had the opening five points and Frazier capped the spurt with a layup to make it 61-47 with 2:30 to play and the lead did not dip below double-figures the rest of the way.
NUMBER TO KNOW
2 – The Blue Devils posted their second win over a power conference team in the past three outings after taking down Boston College on Nov. 11.
NOTES
- Smith, Jr. was 7-of-15 from the field overall and hit a trio of three-pointers. He added five rebounds in 34 minutes.
- Frazier shot 7-of-13 and had his first career double-double, while adding three steals and two blocks.
- Rodgers shot 5-of-7 overall and added a game-high nine assists.
- Central committed just seven turnovers in the game and had a 12-6 edge in points off turnovers.
- The Blue Devils outscored the Scarlet Knights, 13-2, in fastbreak points and outrebounded Rutgers, 41-37, in the game.
- CCSU is 2-0 against schools from "Power 4" conferences this season and 2-44 all-time.
- The Blue Devils are now 1-5 all-time against Rutgers.
UP NEXT
- CCSU returns home to host Sacred Heart on Monday night. The game will be a Blue Out and all fans are encouraged to wear blue to the game.
Follow @CCSUBlueDevils on X and CCSUBlueDevils.com for updates.
