FINAL STATS

New Britain, CT – Senior forward Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) scored 15 points to lead three players in double figures but it was not enough as Central Connecticut St. earned a 67-57 NEC win over Wagner.

In seeing its two-game winning streak come to an end, the Seahawks fell to 9-5 on the season, 2-2 in the NEC.The Blue Devils, who now embark on a four-game NEC road swing, improved their record to 6-8 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

With the victory, CCSU ended its three-game losing streak. The win for the Blue Devils evens their record at 2-2 in league play and is the first for CCSU since a win over Princeton on Dec. 20. They are now 5-1 at home this season and have won five straight by an average margin of over 10 points.

Smith added a team-high eight rebounds while fifth-year senior point guard Justin Drummond (Baltimore, MD/ McDonogh) and senior forward Llew Radford (Newport News, VA/ Heritage) scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. Radford picked up three personal fouls in the first half and was limited to just 21 minutes of playing time. Senior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) chipped in with nine points and saw his double-digit scoring streak come to an end at 11.

CCSU used an 18-0 run in a six-minute span in the first half, ignited when Radford went to the bench, to lead 23-7 with 8:30 on the clock. CCSU turned a 7-5 deficit into the 16-point lead while holding the Seahawks to 0-for-3 shooting and six turnovers during the run. Wagner, which shot 55 percent in the first half, answered with a 14-2 un of its own that would cut the deficit to to four at halftime, 33-29.

The Seahawks cut it to two, 35-33, early in the second half but an 8-0 Blue Devil burst made it 43-33 with 15:04 left in the game. Wagner would not get closer than nine for the rest of the game and the CCSU lead would reach as much as 17. A feed inside by Aaron Hall to Horton led to a dunk and made it 58-41 with 7:53 on the clock.

Senior Marcus Palmer and sophomores Shemik Thompson and Ken Horton combined for 53 points for Central Connecticut which shot 46 percent (26-of-56) from the field in the game, had 14 assists and only 11 turnovers. Horton led the way with his 12th career game with 20 or more points. He scored 21 and also grabbed five rebounds. Thompson scored 17 points, grabbed three rebounds and had five assists to go along with his five steals. Palmer posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Blue Devils also registered a season-high 10 steals in the game, including five by Thompson.

CCSU scored 26 points off of 18 Wagner turnovers which led to a 14-0 edge in fast break points.

Wagner is next in action on Saturday when the Seahawks host LIU in a 7:00 pm start in the second game of the doubleheader with the Wagner women's team hosting LIU at 4:00 pm.