Box Score
New Britain, Connecticut - - -The 2009-2010 season came to an end for St. Francis (NY) after the Terriers dropped a 68-56 decision against the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, Saturday afternoon at Detrick Gym. A victory would have given the Terriers the #7 seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament. St. Francis finished with a record of 11-18 (8-10 NEC) and the Blue Devils improved to 12-17 (9-9 NEC).
Sophomore forward Stefan Perunicic (4-for-4, 3-pointers) paced the Terriers with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Junior guard Akeem Bennett added his fifth "double-double" of the season with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Terriers, who led 27-24 at the break, grabbed a 39-29 advantage with 14:52 remaining in the game as they outscored the Blue Devils, 12-5, to open the second half. However, the hosts quickly answered with a 10-1 spurt to get right back into the contest.
Central Connecticut State’s Joe Seymore and Shemik Thompson hit back-to-back treys to bring the hosts within 40-35 with 13:40 remaining. David Simmons followed with a layup and Robby Ptacek hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to just 40-39 with 12:19 on the clock. Terriers’ junior guard Ricky Cadell stemmed the tide with a layup to give his team a 42-39 edge with 11:31 remaining, but Thompson converted a layup and Markeys Dean hit two free throws to give the Blue Devils a 43-42 lead with 10:21 to go.
St. Francis did not go away easily as they went on an 8-2 burst to claim a 50-45 advantage at the 6:41 mark. Bennett scored all eight points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to complete the run. However, the Terriers were held without a field goal until the closing seconds of the contest.
The Blue Devils rattled off 10 unanswered points to take a 55-50 lead with 1:45 remaining. Thompson, who scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, scored six points during the decisive run. CCSU then hit 9-of-10 free throws to put the game out of reach.
The Terriers trailed 19-14 with 5:45 left in the opening stanza but went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-19 lead with 3:23 remaining after Perunicic (13 first-half points) drained a trey. The Terriers settled for a 27-24 halftime edge.
St. Francis, who have now lost nine straight games in their series against CCSU, shot 39.2 percent (20-of-51) overall and were 7-for-17 (41.2 percent ) from behind the arc.
The Blue Devils shot 38.5 percent (20-of-52) but were 24-for-29 (82.8 percent) from the line. CCSU also outrebounded St. Francis by a 36-32 margin and had six fewer turnovers.