NEW BRITAIN, CT – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men's basketball team (2-1, 2-1 NEC), used a balanced scoring attack to surge past Central Connecticut State (1-5, 1-2 NEC), 91-86, on Tuesday night. The Terriers earn their second win in a row and have scored 90 or more points in consecutive games for the first time since the 2002-03 season (142 points on Feb. 22, 110 points on Feb. 27, 96 points on Mar. 1).
St. Francis had five student-athletes finish the game scoring in double figures and was led by graduate guard
Travis Atson, who scored a game-high 21 points. Senior guard
Chauncey Hawkins and sophomore guard
Rob Higgins each added 18 points apiece en route to victory. Junior forward
David Muenkat finished with 12 points and fellow junior forward
Vuk Stevanic had 10 points.
The Terriers controlled a 44-41 lead at the halftime break, but Central Connecticut State took a second half lead and went up by as much as seven points (68-61) with 11:40 to play in the game. Like St. Francis' first win of the season last Wednesday against Bryant, the Terriers locked in down the stretch and battled their way to victory.
St. Francis trailed by one, 78-77, with 2:32 to play when Hawkins drove to the basket, absorbed contact, converted an acrobatic driving layup, and drew the foul. Hawkins knocked down the free-throw to put the Terriers ahead, 80-77. On the next possession, Central Connecticut tied the game up with a layup and that was the closest the game would get over the final 2:27.
Hawkins came back down on the other end and made another layup, this one put the Terriers up, 82-80. On the very next possession Stevanic went to work in the post and converted a three-point play to give the Terriers an 85-80 lead with 1:48 to go.
Atson and junior guard
Larry Moreno teamed up for key second chance points with 55 seconds to play. After a missed three by Higgins, Atson crashed the offensive glass and tipped the ball to a wide-open Moreno who banked in a layup from point-blank range which gave the Terriers an 87-82 lead. From there St. Francis, was able to close out the game by the final score of 91-86.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 91 | Central Connecticut State – 86
- The reigning NEC Co-Player of the Week graduate guard/forward Travis Atson scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and went 5-of-10 from three-point range. Atson's five made three-pointers were a career-high. He added eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals to his ledger in 38 minutes of play.
- Hawkins scored 18 points, dished out seven assists, grabbed seven rebounds, and swiped two steals. His points, assists, and rebounds output marked an early season-high for the guard. Hawkins became just the 17th player in the nation to post at least 18 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds in a single-game this season.
- Higgins finished the game with 18 points on 5-of-14 shooting and knocked down 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. The guard swiped a career-high five steals, which were the most by a Terrier in a single-game since Hawkins tallied five steals at LIU on February 18, 2020.
- Muenkat came off the bench and scored 12 points on a near perfect 5-of-6 shooting from the field and grabbed six rebounds in 22 minutes. Stevanic scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and grabbed three rebounds. The front court duo combined for 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting and tallied 10 rebounds.
- The Terriers outrebounded the Blue Devils, 39-34. St. Francis outscored Central off turnovers (20-13) in the paint (44-34), and on fast breaks (18-15).
- Terriers' Head Coach Glenn Braica earned his 147th career victory.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers are right back in action on Wednesday, December 16, when they face Central Connecticut State at 1 p.m.
