By Kenny Barto
The Central Connecticut State University men’s basketball team topped Fairleigh Dickinson 77-67 to give the Blue Devils their first multiple game win streak of the season.
The win, before a crowd of 1,102 at William H. Detrick Gymnasium, gave the Devils (7-14, 4-6) a 5-2 home record on the year.
Both coaching staffs wore sneakers with their suits to show support for “Coaches versus Cancer.” All three game officials used pink whistles to show their support as well.
Junior guard Shemik Thompson led the Blue Devils with 24 points, and added five assists, four steals, four rebounds and was 4-of-6 from three-point range. Senior guard Joe Seymore chipped in with 20 points and six rebounds.
Central blitzed FDU in the first half, going into the intermission with a 42-28 lead, their largest at the half all season. Thompson was perfect across the board. He was 2-for-2 from the field, both three pointers, and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
“We knew we could hit our shots,” Thompson said. “We were getting good looks, and taking advantage.”
In the first half, Central’s largest lead was 19 with 4:24 to go. Fairleigh Dickinson cut the deficit to 14 going in to the locker room, and also came out with more intensity to begin the second half. They started the half with a 9-4 run, and kept cutting into the CCSU lead.
“They came out with a 3-2 zone which confused us a little bit,” said Seymore. “But we adjusted to it, we swung the ball, and got some good looks inside.”
The Knights outscored Central in the second half 39-35, shooting 50 percent from the field, and knocking down twelve of their fourteen free throws.
“They were just hitting their shots,” said head coach Howie Dickenman. “They came out and took it to us, which didn’t allow us to run in transition like the first half.”
With 7:10 left to go, FDU guard Sean Baptiste nailed a 3-pointer to momentarily put FDU ahead by one.
“I didn’t even know they had the one point lead at first,” said Seymore. “It was definitely a gut check, and it came down to mental toughness to get past that adversity and pull away.”
The Blue Devils responded quickly with a 10-0 run, eight of the points being scored by Thompson.
“Shemik just took over,” said coach Dickenman. “He had eight of the next 10 points, and played really well.”
Central maintained at least a 10-point cushion for the rest of the half, finishing the game on a strong note. This was CCSU’s second straight win after crushing Monmouth 66-44 on Thursday night. It marked their second straight win against a conference opponent with a better NEC record than the Blue Devils.
“We’re trying to make a move in the standings,” said coach Dickenman. “We’re putting ourselves in a position so we can qualify for the tournament.”
In addition to the heroics of Thompson and Seymore, Junior forward Markeys Deans recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while Chris Baskerville added 11 points and 6 rebounds.
Central Connecticut will head to Smithfield, RI to face the winless Bryant Bulldogs on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
“We don’t want to be that team,” said Joe Seymore. “If anyone thinks that they’re just going to roll over for us, they’re crazy.”
After Thursday’s game, the Blue Devils face Bryant again at Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Central has the chance to go on a roll before they face an important opponent in Robert Morris University on February 11. The game will be at 8 p.m. and televised on Cox Sports Television.
