Bute leads Central Connecticut past Fairleigh Dickinson by 1

Jan 19, 2018, 02:36 am

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- Deion Bute scored the final eight points for Central Connecticut, the last two on a slam dunk with three seconds left, and the Blue Devils held on for a 66-65 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday night.

Bute finished with a career-high 22 points, making 9 of 10 shots from the floor and all four of his free throws.

Central Connecticut (10-10, 3-4 Northeast Conference) won, despite struggling at the free-throw line down the stretch. The Blue Devils missed the front end of a 1-and-1 four times in the final 20 seconds. But after Kaleb Bishop knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Knights (5-13, 2-5) a 65-64 lead with 10 seconds left, Bute snagged a pass from Tyler Kohl and slammed it home.

Kohl was whistled for a foul with one second left, but Pat McNamara missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with a chance to tie or put the Knights up. Joe Hugley grabbed the rebound for Central Connecticut, was fouled by Mike Holloway Jr., and missed the free throw as time expired.

Mustafa Jones scored 14 with six rebounds and Kohl scored 11 with four assists.

Bishop topped Fairleigh Dickinson with 18 points and eight rebounds.