HACKENSACK, N.J. - With an expanded Northeast Conference tournament field giving all nine NCAA championship-eligible teams an opportunity to play for a March Madness bid, the result was a down-to-the-wire one-point victory for #9 Central Connecticut over #8 Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball, 67-66.

Competing for a quarterfinal slot at Bryant on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 p.m., both sides came out with great momentum though it was FDU who would break open the scoring affair first. In total, Monday's game was tied at five different points with three of them coming in the first five minutes. John Square Jr. worked his magic for the Knights scoring the first two buckets of the game for the Burgundy and Blue. Hailing from North Bethesda, Md., "Mikey" finished with 11 points, eight boards (six off the defensive glass), three steals and one assist. The sophomore co-captain and St. John's College (H.S.) grad shot .625 from the field (5-8) and an even .500 from the free throw line (1-2).

Sticking with Greg Herenda's side, junior guard Brandon Rush continued his streak of impressive performances with the Warrensville, Ohio product posting a team-best 15 points, two assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals. Equally impressive was freshman phenom Anquan Hill, the NEC Rookie of the Week. Hill tallied 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field with six rebounds, three assists and a steal.

On the other side of the court, former FDU assistant coach Patrick Sellers faced his mentor and former boss for the third time as a head coach (all three meetings occurring in the 2021-22 season). With Sellers in front 2-1, the CCSU alum stuck with his starters and only used three subs off the bench of seven available. Guard Nigel Scantlebury hit the game-winner for the Blue Devils from the charity stipe with seven seconds remaining in regulation. He led all scorers with 19 points, six boards, five assists and two steals.

"I'm just so proud of these guys and how they competed and came back and battled back," said Sellers. "The last time we played these guys [FDU] , the same deal - we were down 15 points - and kept battling and Nigel Scantlebury was a huge part of that." 

"The coaching staff instilled the mentality in us on day one to 'keep going' and that's what we did," said Scantlebury, referring to the come-from-behind victory.

"I'm just really happy for Pat Sellers, that's my number one feeling right now. Pat was part of our championship team and he's family," remarked Herenda in his opening statement at the postgame press conference. "Their team just grinded it out and they hung and hung and hung. These were two young teams with a lot of talent but in the end they held it out. I love my guys by we're frustrating and talented and young and that's why we're sitting it and won't be playing in March."

When asked about playing in high school inside the Rothman, rookie Ansley Almonor commented that, "I was kind of used to the bigger crowds when I played in this building - once the playoffs started which for me was Wagner - you can tell the crowd shifted the momentum and led to the offense making mistakes," referring to the distractions caused by the Knights fans to Central Connecticut.

"To have the lead the entire game and not win hurts a great deal, but give Pat and his kids all the credit, they just would not go away," added Herenda. "I am really happy for Pat but obviously feel terrible for my team and our fans. This will serve as a learning lesson for our spring, summer and fall workouts as we get ready for next season. Obviously, our freshmen and underclassmen had an incredible year and we did not have a graduate transfer or four-year senior so our future is extremely bright but tonight hurts. Finally, I cannot thank Sal Xheraj enough for all that he has done for our program and University. Tonight was his last game as a Knight but we all know that he will forever be a huge part of our Knights family."

By virtue of winning the opening round game, Sellers and CCSU will head to Smithfield, R.I. on Wednesday, March 2, in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament to face regular season champion and number one seed Bryant at 7 p.m. live on NEC Front Row.