Men's Basketball Runs to 101-87 Victory on the Road at Army on Monday Night

Junior Ken Horton scored a career-high 34 points and senior Shemik Thompson had 25 as Central Connecticut topped Army 101-87 on Monday night in West Point, NY. The Blue Devils are 2-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 season, and scored 100 points for only the sixth time under 15-year head coach Howie Dickenman. Central is 5-1 in those games, and won for the 22nd straight time when scoring 80 or more points.

The Black Knights led by as many as 10 points in the first half after hitting 7-of-10 from the three-point line to start the game. Down by 10, the Blue Devils outscored Army 22-6 in the final five minutes before halftime to take a 50-44 lead.

Horton led the way with 18 in the half, he was 6-for-8 from the floor and hit all four of his free-throw attempts. Thompson had 16 before the break, matching his total from the season opener against Fairfield on Saturday night.

The Black Knights shot 15-of-29 from the floor in the half, but went cold near halftime. Central made 15-of-20 from the free-throw line before the break, as the Black Knights committed 17 first half fouls.

The Blue Devils built an 11-point lead early in the second half, but the Black Knights rallied to take a one point lead, 72-71, with 10:55 to play in the game.

Central responded by outscoring Army 30-15 over the final 10 minutes of the game to come away with the victory.

The two teams combined to hit 25 three-point baskets, 13 of them by the Blue Devils, matching the fourth-highest single total in program history. Central hit 33-of-64 from the field, good for 51.6 percent. Army was 12-for-20 from three in the game, and shot 51.7 percent from the field in the loss.

Horton added nine rebounds to his career-high 34 points. Junior Robby Ptacek scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. The Blue Devils hit 22-of-27 from the free-throw line in the game, including 8-of-8 from Horton and 6-of-6 from Ptacek.

Thompson had 25 points to go along with four assists in the game, he was 10-of-18 from the floor and hit three threes for the second straight game. His 25 points move him to 985 for his career, just 15 shy of becoming the 32nd player in school history to record 1,000 career points. He has 16 and 25 in his first two games this season.

Junior Vince Rosario scored 14 points, including four threes, all coming in the second half. He was 4-for-8 from three, while Horton hit 4-of-6 from downtown.

The Blue Devils return to action on Saturday night on the road at UMBC beginning at 7 p.m. They will then travel to Penn St. to face the Nittany Lions on Monday night, also at 7 p.m.