Robby Ptacek scored 22 points, grabbed seven boards and had two steals as Central Connecticut State beat St. Francis (Pa.) 65-60 on Thursday night.
CCSU (11-14, 8-7 Northeast Conference) held an early 18-8 lead but the Red Flash used a 17-3 run to go ahead 25-21 with 5:11 left in the first half.
The teams battled through two ties and four lead changes in the second half before a Kyle Vinales 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 run, giving the Blue Devils a 57-49 lead with 4:43 remaining.
Vinales had a trey and two assists during the spurt.
Despite shooting 50 percent (7 of 14) from the free-throw line, the Blue Devils were 25 of 56 from the field, including 6 of 13 from deep.
Earl Brown led St. Francis (5-21, 4-11) with 19 points and 10 boards but the Red Flash struggled from deep, hitting only 2 of 18 3-point attempts.
