Sanchez Scores 23; Men's Basketball Holds Off Le Moyne on Thursday
The Central Connecticut State men's basketball team held off Le Moyne, 78-77, in a critical NEC contest on Thursday night in New Britain. Melo Sanchez would pour in a career-best at CCSU with 23 points as the Blue Devils won a matchup to take sole possession of second place in the league standings.
Sanchez hit six three-pointers to go with three steals, while Darin Smith, Jr. added 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Max Frazier finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Central shot 33-of-68 (.485) from the field, and 11-of-32 (.344) on three-pointers. CCSU went just 1-of-1 at the foul line.
Trent Mosquera had a game-high 28 points for Le Moyne. The Dolphins shot 27-of-56 (.482) overall and 10-of-19 (.526) on three-pointers. Le Moyne was 13-of-17 at the foul line.
GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE
Score: CCSU 78, LE MOYNE 77
Records: CCSU (16-10, 10-5 NEC), Le Moyne (14-14, 9-6 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT
KEY MOMENTS
- Central took a 13-6 lead before the first media timeout after hitting 6-of-9 shots to open the game. A Max Frazier dunk would give the Blue Devils a seven-point lead and opened a six-point spurt. Baskets by Jayden Mott and Darin Smith, Jr. would follow to make it 17-6.
- The Blue Devils would keep the lead for early going and used a 10-0 run just past the midway mark of the period. Le Moyne would get within, 23-18, at the 9:57 mark before Roddy Jones responded with a three-pointer. Jay Rodgers would hit a trifecta nearly 90 seconds later and pushed the lead to 33-18 with 8:02 remaining in the half. The Dolphins would be held without a field goal for nearly seven minutes, but would make five foul shots to cut the lead to 33-23. Trent Mosquera would end the field goal drought and a string of seven straight missed shots with a layup with 3:01 to go in the half to make it 33-27.
- Le Moyne would score seven unanswered points to get within 36-34 with just 0:36 to go in the half. Central would snap the run with a Melo Sanchez three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to make it 39-34 at the intermission.
- The Blue Devils would score the first eight points of the second half. After a Max Frazier jump shot, Smith, Jr. and Sanchez hit consecutive three-pointers to make it 47-34 and force a Le Moyne timeout with 18:22 remaining.
- The Dolphins would get a three-pointer by Mosquera and a layup by Deng Garang to trim the CCSU lead to 49-42 with 15:29 to play. A dunk by Frazier and three-pointer by Ashton Reynolds would push the lead back to double-figures at 56-44 with 12:32 remaining.
- Two foul shots by Mosquera would make it a one-possession at 66-63 with 3:28 remaining. He would come up with a steal and make two more foul shots to make it a one-point game with 3:07 left. On the next Central possession, Sanchez would convert a four-point play with 2:47 left to push the lead back to five.
- Mosquera would bank in a three-pointer with 38 seconds left to get Le Moyne within 78-77. CCSU would run down the clock on its next possession, but a missed shot would give the Dolphins one final opportunity. Le Moyne would try to set up a final play, but had a pass on the wing knocked away by the Central defense and the clock expired.
NUMBER TO KNOW
9 – Central won its ninth straight one-point game dating back to Jan. 21, 2022.
NOTES
- Sanchez was 6-of-11 from the arc. He had two assists and did not commit a turnover in 28 minutes.
- Smith, Jr. posted his 15th game with 20+ points this season.
- Frazier shot 7-of-7 from the field and had three blocked shots.
- Rodgers had nine points, eight assists and two rebounds.
- Central improved to 5-0 in February.
- The last time CCSU did not shoot a free throw was Feb. 14, 2015, at Robert Morris.
- CCSU has won the past five matchups and lead the all-time series 8-7.
UP NEXT
- The Blue Devils travel to Chicago State on Saturday.
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