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01/22 03:43 CST Niesman leads Fairleigh Dickinson against Cent. Conn. St. after 23-point game Niesman leads Fairleigh Dickinson against Cent. Conn. St. after 23-point game By The Associated Press Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (6-13, 3-3 NEC) at Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (10-7, 4-2 NEC) New Britain, Connecticut; Friday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Fairleigh Dickinson faces Cent. Conn. St. after Joey Niesman scored 23 points in Fairleigh Dickinson's 68-61 victory against the Wagner Seahawks. The Blue Devils have gone 5-1 at home. Cent. Conn. St. is fifth in the NEC at limiting opponent scoring, giving up 72.3 points while holding opponents to 43.0% shooting. The Knights are 3-3 in NEC play. Fairleigh Dickinson ranks ninth in the NEC with 12.1 assists per game led by Niesman averaging 3.4. Cent. Conn. St. makes 47.8% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.0 percentage points higher than Fairleigh Dickinson has allowed to its opponents (45.8%). Fairleigh Dickinson averages 68.5 points per game, 3.8 fewer than the 72.3 Cent. Conn. St. gives up to opponents. The Blue Devils and Knights match up Friday for the first time in NEC play this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Melo Sanchez averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Blue Devils, scoring 9.4 points while shooting 44.9% from beyond the arc. Darin Smith Jr. is shooting 42.4% and averaging 20.8 points over the past 10 games. Eric Parnell is shooting 35.1% from beyond the arc with 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Knights, while averaging 11.8 points. Niesman is averaging 13.4 points and 3.7 assists over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Devils: 5-5, averaging 72.5 points, 28.4 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.3 points per game. Knights: 4-6, averaging 64.2 points, 31.3 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 5.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 38.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.6 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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