March 2, 2006

Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) - Lenny Jefferson scored 21 points as Central Connecticut defeated Sacred Heart 86-68 in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference tournament Thursday night.

The second-seeded Blue Devils will host third-seeded Monmouth in the semifinals on Sunday afternoon, while the seventh-ranked Pioneers finished their season with an 11-17 record.

Central (18-10, 14-5 NEC) built an early lead behind long-range shooting. The Blue Devils hit on six of their first eight 3-point shots and used a 17-7 run to jump out ahead.

Tristan Blackwood, Justin Chiera and Jefferson each hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first nine minutes as Central went up 25-15. But Sacred Heart fired back.

Luke Granato's 3-pointer cut Central's lead to 29-23 at the 7:48 mark. Kibwe Trim (21 points) scored inside and pulled the Pioneers to within 31-26 less than two minutes later, but Jefferson responded with another score from behind the arc and Central went into the break with a 42-33 lead.

Sacred Heart didn't score for the first 4:01 of the second half, and the Blue Devils stretched the lead to 48-33. The Pioneers were only able to close to within 10 points once more at the 6:47 mark.

Blackwood had 16 for Central, while Chiera had 14 and Obie Nwadike had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Trim led the Pioneers with 21.