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New Britain, CT - Behind a game-high 30 points from Kyle Vinales and a pair of big second-half runs, Central Connecticut posted a 73-66 victory over Wagner in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at Detrick Gym.

The Blue Devils opened up a 10-point lead midway through the second half and were able to withstand numerous Seahawk rallies en route to posting their seventh-straight home win against the Green & White.

With the victory, CCSU improves to 7-9 and 3-2 in the NEC while Wagner falls to 9-7 and 3-2 in the league.

Junior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) paced the Seahawks in scoring for the fifth time this season with 18 points while handing out six assists, against just three turnovers, over 36 minutes of action. Freshman Eric Fanning (Trenton, NJ / Perkiomen (PA)) notched a career-high 13 points and junior Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) added 12 points to round out the Wagner double-digit scorers. Leading the way on defense was junior Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep), who pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds while recording double-figures for the second time this year and the fifth time in his career.

Trailing by two at the half, Ortiz opened the second-half scoring with a jumper. Then after stealing the inbounds pass, the reigning NEC Defensive Player of the year found senior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / City College of San Francisco) for a layup to reclaim the lead for the Seahawks. On the ensuing possession Rivers stole the ball from Terrell Allen, before finishing on the other end in giving Wagner its largest lead of the game at 37-33 with 17:42 to play, while capping a 12-0 run that bridged the two halves.

The Blue Devils immediately responded as Vinales broke free for a pair of three pointers, before Joe Efese capped the game-changing 8-0 spurt with a jumper to make it a 41-37 game with just over 16 minutes remaining. 

Just two minutes later with the advantage still at two, CCSU used a 10-2 run to push the lead out to a game-high 10 at 51-41 with 11:56 remaining. All told, after the Seahawks assumed their aforementioned four-point lead, the Blue Devils outscored the visitors 18-4 over the next 5:46 in building up their insurmountable advantage.

Wagner would continue to fight and trimmed the deficit to two at 53-51 with just over eight minutes remaining with an 8-0 run of its own thanks to five markers from Ortiz and three from Rivers. Unfortunately, as would be the case all night CCSU answered with four-straight points from Vinales and never saw their lead dip below four the rest of the way.

For the game, the Blue Devils shot a blistering 51.0 percent (26-for-51) for the game, but just 36.8 percent (7-for-19) from long range and 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the line. The Seahawks, meanwhile, converted on 39.7 percent (23-for-58), including a paltry 27.8 percent (5-for-18) from deep.

In a frentic first half that saw eight lead changes and two ties, CCSU ripped off eight-straight points in just over two minutes in taking a 27-20 advantage with an even 5:00 remaining in the half. After freshman Fanning briefly answered with a jumper, Adonis Burbage extended the Blue Devil lead out to a half-high eight at 33-25 with 2:20 remaining. Fanning then canned a three pointer and a free throw, before sophomore Mario Moody (East Orange, NJ / East Orange Campus) capped a 6-0 half-ending spurt with a layup to make it 33-31 at intermission.

Rounding out the double-figure scorers for CCSU were Matt Hunter (13), Burbage (10) and Efese (10).

Wagner returns to action against NEC-leading Bryant on Saturday, January 19 at 4:00 pm.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department, @WagnerHoops for news and updates on the men's basketball program and @bashirmason to follow the Seahawks' first-year head coach.

Photography by Dave Saffran