Men's Basketball Holds Off Fairfield, 64-63
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team capped a four-game road swing with a 64-63 win at Fairfield on Wednesday night in Mahoney Arena. The contest featured 15 lead changes and nine ties, while neither team led by more than six points. Jayden Brown led the way with his first career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds..
Brown shot 7-of-13 from the field overall and paced a trio of Blue Devils in double-figures. Devin Haid finished with 13 points, while Jordan Jones had 12 points and seven assists. Central shot 29-of-61 (.475) overall and 5-of-15 (.333) from three-point range. The Blue Devils were 1-of-1 (1.000) at the foul line.
Deon Perry had a team-high 13 points for the Stagss. Fairfield shot 26-of-62 (.419) overall and 11-of-26 (.423) on three-pointers. Fairfield was 0-of-2 (.000) at the foul line.
GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE
Score: CCSU 64, FAIRFIELD 63
Records: CCSU (7-4), Fairfield (5-6, 1-1 MAAC)
Location: Mahoney Arena | Fairfield, CT
KEY MOMENTS
- Central fell behind, 7-2 in the opening minutes before settling in. Devin Haid would convert a driving floater that opened a 7-0 run to help CCSU take its first lead. A three-pointer by Jayden Brown made it 12-11 before Jordan Jones pushed the margin to three points at the 12:41 mark.
- A three-pointer by Joe Ostrowsky gave Central its largest lead of the period at 22-17 with 7:32 to go in the half. The Stags came back with a 10-3 run, including seven unanswered to regain the lead. Isaac Munkadi's layup made it 27-25 at the 3:30 mark before the teams went into the intermission tied at 30.
- Central came out of the break with six straight points to force a timeout by the Stags. A jumper by Jones was followed by back-to-back baskets from Brown, including a layup off a bullet pass from Jones to make it 36-30 with 17:07 to go. The Blue Devils defense would limit the Stags to just 1-of-9 shooting to open the half.
- After Fairfield came back to regain a one-point lead with just over 14 minutes left, the teams would trade the lead 10 times with neither side having a cushion of more than three points until CCSU went ahead with a late 6-0 run. There was just 1:41 left in the game when a layup by Brown gave Central a 62-58 lead.
- The Stags would cut the deficit to 64-63 with 41 seconds left after a Prophet Johnson three-pointer. Fairfield would get the ball back with 14 seconds left and CCSU would three fouls to set up the final play with six seconds left. The Stags would get a final shot with a turnaround jumper in the paint, but it was off the mark.
NUMBER TO KNOW
7 – CCSU has won seven straight games decided by one point, dating back to Jan. 21, 2022.
NOTES
- Brown added a season-high three blocked shots, while also shooting 2-of-3 from the arc.
- Max Frazier had the best game of his young CCSU career with six points and five rebounds with two blocked shots. He also added two assists.
- The game had just 14 total fouls, each team committing seven apiece. CCSU is among the NCAA's best squads, committing just 12.8 fouls per game entering the night.
- Central snapped an eight-game slide in the series, which Fairfield leadis 21-5 all-time.
UP NEXT
- Central returns to Detrick Gym on Saturday against Quinnipiac at 1:00 p.m.
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