NEW BRITAIN, CT -- Central Connecticut jumped out to a 31-point halftime lead and was never threatened in the second half as the Blue Devils posted an 81-48 non-conference men’s basketball victory over Delaware Sunday afternoon at Detrick Gymnasium.

Central Connecticut, which improved to 4-7 on the season and won its second consecutive game, came into the game averaging 59.8 points per game but shot 65.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes to take a 50-19 lead into the break. Freshman Shemik Thompson scored a career-high 15 points for the Blue Devils, while fellow freshman David Simmons scored 12 points while grabbing a career-best 13 rebounds.

Ken Horton and Tristan Blackwood each added 14 points for Central Connecticut, which defeated Delaware for the second consecutive season and downed the Blue Hens for the fourth time in five all-time meetings in Detrick Gym.

Delaware junior Marc Egerson (at right), appearing in his first game as a Blue Hen after transferring from Georgetown, led UD with 14 points but shot just 3 of 12 from the field. Herb Courtney added 11 points and a team-best four rebounds for the Blue Hens, Brian Johnson chipped in 10 points, and Jim Ledsome, also making his Delaware debut after transferring from Nebraska, scored nine points while dishing out a team-high three assists.

The Blue Hens, who dropped to 2-6 on the season and lost their second straight game, fell to 1-15 in their last 16 non-conference road games.

Delaware opened the scoring when Dawson converted a layup off the opening tip, but Central Connecticut scored 13 straight points and led by double digits the rest of the way. A dunk by Jim Ledsome made it an 18-7 game at the 14:28 mark, but the Blue Devils answered with 11 consecutive points to go up 29-7 with 8:38 to play. Central Connecticut continued to extend its lead, taking a 38-12 advantage on a three-pointer by Blackwood with 5:04 remaining in the half.

The Blue Devil advantage grew to as much as 34 in the opening period at 50-16 before Marc Egerson drained a three-pointer in the final minute to make it a 31-point game at the half. The 50 points allowed in the first half was the highest total since UD also gave up 50 first half points to Towson on January 14, 2006.

UD opened the second period with seven consecutive points as a layup by Johnson, a put-back by Ledsome and a three-pointer by Courtney cut the lead to 50-26 with 17:30. The Blue Hens made a final push, pulling within 22 points at 59-37 with 10:09 to play following a jumper and an emphatic dunk by Herb Courtney. However Blackwood countered with a pair of three-pointers to ignite a 13-0 Central Connecticut run and push the lead by to 35 points. Following Courtney’s dunk, the Blue Hens went scoreless over the next six and a half minutes as Delaware went on to suffer its worst defeat since an 83-48 setback at Old Dominion on January 10, 2007.

The Blue Devils, who shot 54.9 percent from the field including 9 of 17 from three-point range, held a commanding 43-23 rebounding advantage.

“They were knocking down shots and started the game on fire, while our team was complacent,” said UD second year head coach Monté Ross. “They out-toughed us and out-scrapped us under the glass, and that’s something we will address in the upcoming days. It’s going to take some time for our team to acclimate ourselves with the two transfers, and we have a couple days of practice to shore up some things before playing Vermont.”

The Blue Hens continue their road trip on Wednesday when Delaware travels to Vermont for a 7 p.m. game with the Catamounts.

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