Four in Double-Figues Leads Men's Basketball by Mercyhurst

The Central Connecticut State men's basketball clinched a pair of postseason home games with an 80-78 win over Mercyhurst on Thursday night at Detrick Gymnasium. The Blue Devils locked up the two-seed for the NEC Tournament with the win and are assured of home games for the quarterfinals and semifinals should they advance.

Darin Smith, Jr. led four Blue Devils in double-figures with 24 points, while Max Frazier posted a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Central shot 28-of-51 (.549) from the field, and 4-of-10 (.400) on three-pointers. CCSU was of 20-of-26 at the foul line.

Qadir Martin led Mercyhurst with 18 points. The Lakers shot 31-of-62 (.500) overall and 4-of-17 (.235) on three-pointers. Mercyhurst was 12-of-14 at the foul line.

GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE
Score:  CCSU 80, MERCYHURST 78
Records: CCSU (17-11, 11-6 NEC), Mercyhurst (14-16, 9-8 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• Central took an early 8-4 lead after a back-to-back shots by James Jones and Max Frazier just 5:15 into the game. The Blue Devils would maintain their lead and were ahead 16-13 following a steal and layup by Jayden Mott midway through the opening half.
• Mercyhurst scored six straight points to build its biggest lead of the half. Qadir Martin hit a layup to put the Lakers ahead, 19-18, and his layup would close the run at the 7:19 mark to make it 23-18. Melo Sanchez would snap the streak with a fall away jumper with 6:51 to go in the half.
• The Blue Devils would hold the Lakers scoreless for four-plus minutes to regain the lead. Back-to-back baskets by Max Frazier would put CCSU ahead 25-23 before a three-point play by Darin Smith, Jr. capped the run and gave the Blue Devils a five-point lead with 2:44 to go in the half.
• The teams would alternate field goals over the final 1:29, with a three-pointer by Roddy Jones putting CCSU ahead 33-28 with 1:09 left. After a Mercyhurst jumper, Smith, Jr. would hit 1-of-2 foul shots to put the Blue Devils ahead 34-30. The Lakers' final shot just before halftime missed the mark and Central led by four at the intermission.
• Mercyhurst opened the second half by connecting on five straight shots. The Lakers would open a 9-0 run with a dunk by Mykolaus Ivanauskas before a three-pointer just 1:14 later would cap the run and put Mercyhurst ahead 41-36 with 17:28 to play.
• The Blue Devils would tie the game in less than a minute after a layup by Smith, Jr. and a three-pointer by Sanchez. A foul on the trifecta sent Sanchez to the foul line where he put CCSU ahead 44-43 with 15:28 remaining. The teams would trade trips to the foul line before a Bernie Blunt three-pointer put the Lakers ahead 48-46 with 14:06 to play. Blunt would stretch the lead to 52-46 with two foul shots with 12:43 left before a Jay Rodgers jumper would end the Lakers run.
• Central would regain the lead with a 7-0 run. A Sanchez try opened the spurt with 9:06 left before a nifty up-and-under layup by Rodgers put CCSU ahead 60-58 with 6:49 to play. The Blue Devils would lead by as many as three points but it remained a one-possession game until Smith, Jr. backed down for a layup with 0:48 left to make it 75-70. Mercyhurst hit a three-pointer just before time expired to settle the final margin.

NUMBER TO KNOW

7 – With seven assists, Jay Rodgers moved to 196 on the season, which sets a new Division 1 single-season record for CCSU.

NOTES

• Smith, Jr. topped 20 points for the 16^th time this season. He went 12-of-13 at the foul line.
• Frazier shot 8-for-9 from the field and was just one rebound from matching a personal high.
• Rodgers scored 16  points and topped five assists for the 22^nd time this season.
• Melo Sanchez had 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from distance.
• Jere Quinn holds the CCSU all-time single-season record with 227 assists in 1975-76.
• Neither team led by more than six points in the game.
• CCSU has won three of four meetings with Mercyhurst but dropped the first matchup this season.

UP NEXT

• The Blue Devils close the regular season on Saturday against Saint Francis.

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