Blue Devils Fall Short at Mount St. Mary's on Thursday Night, 64-62

Senior forward Marcus Palmer posted his second double-double of the season but it wasn't enough as the Central Connecticut men's basketball team dropped a 64-62 decision on the road at Mount St. Mary's on Thursday night. Sophomore guard Shemik Thompson led the offense with 19 points in his first game after returning from an injury. Palmer had 10 points and a season-best 12 boards. CCSU returns to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. hosting Quinnipiac in the first game of a doubleheader. The women's team will also play the Bobcats immediately following the men's contest.

Thompson scored seven straight Blue Devil points to turn a 7-4 deficit into an 11-9 Blue Devil advantage. An offensive rebound and putback by Palmer made it 13-9 with 12:08 on the clock. His sixth point of the game made it 17-13 in favor of the visitors. He had four early rebounds for the Blue Devils.

Thompson continued his hot start from the floor draining his fifth shot in seven attempts to give CCSU the 21-28 lead with under four minutes to play in the half. A drive from the top of the key with under five on the shot clock by sophomore David Simmons and a fast break drive by freshman Robby Ptacek gave the Blue Devils the 27-18 lead with 1:09 to play.

Central Connecticut led 29-22 at the half led by 11 points from Thompson and eight by Palmer. They shot 12-of-25 from the field before the break and outrebounded the Mount 17-11, including seven by Palmer. The Blue Devils hit only 1-of-6 from three point land but 11-of-19 inside the arc. Jeremy Goode led the way for the Mount with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The two teams combined for only eight turnovers in the half, four by each squad.

The Mount started the second half with an 8-2 run to cut the Blue Devil lead to 31-30. They made their first three shots of the half, including a pair of threes, to cut it to one. A three by sophomore Ken Horton, his first points of the game, stopped the run and made it 34-30.

Central Connecticut led by five, 39-34, but the Mount would answer with a mini 8-4 run to cut it to one at 43-42 with 12:32 on the clock. The Mount took the lead, their first since it was 7-4, on a three from Goode. A pair of free-throws by Thompson made it 48-47. A jumper by Thompson gave the Blue Devils back the lead, 49-48, but the Mount scored 12 straight points to make it 60-49 with under five minutes to play. A three by junior Joe Seymore, his second, stopped the run and made it 60-52.

Trailing by 10 the Blue Devils scored eight straight points to cut it to 62-60 with 1:32 to play. A three-point play by Horton cut it to two. With 16.3 seconds on the clock Jean Cajou hit a pair of free-throws to make it 64-60. With under 10 second to play a Palmer three was long. A late bucket by Simmons made it 64-62.

Thompson led the offense with 19 followed by 12 from Seymore, 11 by Simmons and 10 from Palmer. The Blue Devils outrebounded the Mount 33-24 in the loss and shot 25-of-50 from the floor, good for 50 percent. Goode led four Mount players in double figures with 23. He was 9-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three.

The Blue Devils will play again on Saturday at home at 2 p.m. against Quinnipiac. The game is the first game of a doubleheader on that day as the women's team will also take on the Bobcats at 4 p.m., immediately following the men's game. Fans can watch both games live on CCSUBlueDevils.com and listen to the men's game on the CCSU ESPN Radio Network.