BOX SCORE

Staten Island, NY - Central Connecticut State opened the second half with a 16-5 run while extending a two-point halftime lead to 13 en route to a 60-45 victory over Wagner in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Spiro Sports Center.

The Blue Devils outscored the Seahawks from beyond the arc by a dominating 27-3 advantage and hit on 44.9 percent (22-49) from the floor, compared to 34.0 percent (17-50) for the Green & White.

With the win CCSU improves to 10-16 and 7-9 in the NEC while Wagner falls to 9-18 and 6-10 in the league. The Seahawks currently tied with Mount St. Mary's for the seventh spot in the playoffs and holds the tie-breaker advantage by virtue of its two wins over the Mountaineers.

Down just three at 33-30 with 14:35 remaining in the game, the Blue Devils scored 10-straight points over the next 3:14 while connecting on all four shots from the floor. The Green & White cut the lead to nine at 46-37 following a John'a Poole (Sr., Middle River, MD / Eastern Tech) lay-up at the 9:28 mark. CCSU answered with five-straight points and would eventually push the lead out to a game-high 17 points on the way to a 60-45 victory.

The Blue Devils shot a blistering 52.2 percent (12-23) in the second half, including 50.0 percent (5-10) from beyond the arc while outscoring the Seahawks 33-20 in the decisive half. The Green & White went ice-cold from the floor in the second stanza, hitting on just 26.1 percent (6-23).

Kerrianne Dugan scored 16 points with 10 rebounds while Leanne Crockett added 15 points and 10 rebounds, pacing CCSU.

Junior Megan Mahoney (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) led Wagner with 12 points while freshman Marie-Laurence Archambault (Montreal, Quebec / Montmorency) hit for nine points. Junior Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds with four assists.

The first half was highlighted by runs. The Blue Devils used an early 14-4 run to take a 17-6 lead with 11:45 remaining in the half. During that time CCSU was6-of-11 from the floor while Wagner were just 2-of-9 in the same sample. The Blue Devils pushed the lead out to a half high 12 at 23-11 with 8:06 to go following a Dugan three-point play.

The Seahawks then woke up on offensive end hitting their next five-shots, fueling a 10-1 run over 3:03, cutting the deficit to 24-21 at the 5:03 mark. Crockett answered with a three pointer before Wagner scored the final four points of the half, cutting the deficit to 27-25 at intermission.

After starting out 3-of-12 from the floor, the Green & White connected on 7-of-15 the rest of the way en route to shooting 40.7 percent (11-27) from the floor. CCSU started out 10-of-20 before missing its final six shots of the half and shot 38.5 percent (10-26) from the floor, but connected on four three pointers while Wagner missed both of its attempts.

Wagner hosts conference-leading Robert Morris on Thursday, February 25 at 5:00 pm in the Spiro Sports Center.

NOTES: The Seahawks dominated the paint via a 28-16 advantage despite being outrebounded 36-27 and connected on 83.3 percent (10-12) from the charity stripe … Wagner has shot under 30.0 percent in the second half in three of their last four games, all losses … This marks the second Saturday in a row that the Green & White hit on just one three pointer … CCSU has now won that last three meetings and holds a 15-13 advantage in the all-time series.