HACKENSACK, N.J. - Central Connecticut (11-8, 5-1 NEC) put an end to FDU men's basketball's (9-12, 3-3 NEC) three-game win streak Thursday as the Blue Devils out-shot the Burgundy and Blue 54.5 percent to 36.2 percent to down the Knights 76-60 inside the Bogota Savings Bank Center. The game was one of just two nationally-televised games in the 5 p.m. ET window today, joining Campbell vs. Elon (CBSSN).
The tale of the game is best told by buckets as Central Connecticut hit 30 shots in 14 fewer field goal attempts than the Knights while FDU made 25 of their 69 tries.
FDU got cooking early as four of the Knights' five starters scored in the game's early minutes. CCSU's Jordan Jones and Kellen Amos found the basket early and often as the two sank just shy of half of their team's points at 19 and 16, respectively.
Three-point land was not kind to
Jack Castleberry's team as the Knights converted just 6-of-25 from behind the arc (
Joe Munden Jr. and
Sean Moore finished with two three-pointers each).
"I think to move forward we just have to watch the film -- coach speak here -- but we need to see what we to do better and try to move to the next day," said Castleberry after the loss. "We can't let this impact Saturday (Jan. 27) because we've got another great opportunity to face a quality opponent in Sacred Heart at home."
Former FDU assistant Patrick Sellers, in his third season leading Central Connecticut, enjoyed several runs for his team, notably a 5-0 run inside of 10 minutes in the first half to go up eight on the home Knights. Starting to cut into the run, Munden Jr. hit his second triple of the game in his third attempt to give the Knights some juice. A late layup from newcomer
Terrence Brown would bring FDU within eight points and seconds to play in the opening period but a foul with six ticks to go sent Jones to line for the first-place team in the NEC and he converted a pair of free throws to bring the margin back up to 10 heading into the locker room.
Jo'el Emanuel was whistled for three early fouls which limited his minutes as the game progressed.
FDU turned the ball over just twice in the first half while the press induced a quartet of turnovers from the Blue Devils resulting in three FDU points in the first 20 minutes.
On pace for 68 possessions in the NEC bout, Central Connecticut was sharp in the opening act shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the foul line. FDU attempted just two free throws in the first 20 minutes.
The game hovered around 14 points for most of the second half though FDU would only get within seven as time went on. CCSU's Tre Breland and the Knights' Munden Jr. traded baskets out of the break but the FDU was unable to shake the 12-point deficit until late when Almonor made a layup to snap a nearly four-minute stretch without an FDU field goal at 3:08 of the second half to make it a 13-point affair.
An Amos dunk under 20 seconds would cement the Blue Devils' win in Hackensack.
FDU next plays another team among the top of the NEC standings in Sacred Heart on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. ET live on NEC Front Row and the NEC on the Run App from the Bogota Savings Bank Center in Hackensack, N.J. Tickets are on-sale at
FDUKnights.com/Tickets.
- At least three Knights scored in double-figures for the ninth time this season... FDU is 5-4 this season when three players hit double-digits and 4-3 when four-plus hit the mark
- Almonor hit his 146th three-pointer at FDU as he chases Sean Baptise's 150 career triples (ninth). Almonor is currently 10th all-time at FDU.
- The junior is also just 85 points away from 1,000 points at FDU (915)
- FDU was unable to gain ground, missing 17 shots within 10 feet of the goal... Central Connecticut nabbed 34 defensive rebounds, double the Knights' 17.
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Bogota Savings Bank is the presenting sponsor for the 2023-24 FDU men's basketball season.
