UMBC

Baltimore, Md.—Central Connecticut junior guard Tristan Blackwood led a Blue Devil barrage behind the arc with 24 points as the visiting Blue Devils (4-9) defeated UMBC (4-9), 66-52, in the Retrievers’ final non-conference contest of the season. The Retrievers open America East Conference play at Binghamton on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

Central buried a season-high 13 treys in 21 attempts, including eight of 11 in the second half. Blackwood scored 16 second-half points, including four of five from behind the arc.

Junior guard Brian Hodges led UMBC with 18 points and was named Marlow Sports America East Player of the Game for the Retrievers. UMBC has dropped four straight contests, while Central ended a four-game slide.

The Retrievers led, 27-26 in the final seconds of the first half, but Blackwood showed a sign of things to come when he hit a three-pointer with four seconds left to give the Blue Devils a 29-27 halftime edge. After UMBC freshman forward Justin Fry hit consecutive field goals to open the second half, the Blue Devils hit four consecutive shots from behind the arc to key the decisive 15-2 run, which gave the guests a 44-33 advantage with 13:47 remaining. After Hodges responded with a jumper, Blackwood hit a pair of free throws and hit his third trey of the half to give Central a 52-39 lead with 13 minutes remaining and the Retrievers would not get within single digits the rest of the way.

Hodges hit seven of 12 shots and tied Thomas Young with a team-high six rebounds. Fry hit five of seven shots and was the lone other Retriever in double figures with 10 points. UMBC continued to struggle from behind the arc, hitting just four of 16 shots and are just 29 of 111 (26.2%) over the last seven games (1-6).

Central senior forward Obie Nwadike posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Blue Devils outboarded UMBC, 37-31.