Central Connecticut tops Fairleigh Dickinson 76-72 in OT, will play St. Francis for NEC title

By Canadian Press on March 8, 2025.

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Devin Haid had 29 points, Jordan Jones scored six of his 17 in overtime and Central Connecticut defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 76-72 on Saturday in a Northeast Conference Tournament semifinal.

The top-seeded Blue Devils (25-6) take a 12-game win streak into Tuesday’s championship game against No. 3 seed St. Francis with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Abdul Momoh made two free throws to give Central Connecticut the lead to begin OT. Heid followed with a basket and Jones scored the final six points for the Blue Devils to wrap up the victory.

Haid added five rebounds and four steals for the Blue Devils. Jones hit three 3-pointers and had three steals. Jayden Brown scored 10.

Jo’el Emanuel led the Knights (13-20) with 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Terrance Brown totaled 16 points, six rebounds and three steals. Bismark Nsiah pitched in with 15 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Central Connecticut took a 41-24 lead into halftime. Fairleigh Dickinson came all the way back, using a tip-in by Nsiah with 41 seconds left and a Brown basket with 18 seconds remaining to send the game to OT tied at 66.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press