Round 1: Gutty Devils' rally ends too soon

The Blue Devils' miracle comeback against second-seeded Iowa State ended about six minutes too early.

The Northeast Conference champions were making their first NCAA tournament appearance, and it nearly turned into one of the most shocking upsets in the tourney's history. Only three No. 15 seeds have ever won a first-round game.

Alas, the Cyclones held on to win, 88-78.

"If I had to go back and do it again, I'd pray we wouldn't draw that team," said Fizer, the Big 12 Conference player of the year, who scored 27 points and had 11 rebounds in the Midwest Region first-round game in Minneapolis. "They made a lot of big plays, and before we knew it, the game was tied."

Central Connecticut State erased a 19-point first-half deficit with pinpoint shooting and drives through the Iowa State defense. Rick Mickens, the Northeast Conference player of the year, scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half. He hit a layup with 6:15 left that tied it at 69 and sent the Blue Devils' bench and small fan contingent into delirium.

But the shock awoke Iowa State (30-5), which immediately made a 12-0 run. Afterward, the Blue Devils weren't happy about playing a close game against one of the nation's top teams. Instead, they were angry that an opportunity for the biggest win in school history had slipped through their fingers.

"We didn't want to talk about David and Goliath or the Cinderella slipper or shocking the world," Central Connecticut State coach Howie Dickenman said. "We came here to win the basketball game."

John Tice scored 21 points to lead the Blue Devils, but he didn't have a basket in the game's final seven minutes.

How They Got There

Two years after posting a 4-22 record in its first season in the Northeast Conference, the Blue Devils stormed to the regular-season league title and then had little trouble rolling to the conference tournament championship.

By beating Robert Morris 63-46 in the final, Central Connecticut gained the league's automatic bid and played in its first NCAA Tournament.

Top-seeded in the conference tournament, CCSU beat No. 8 UMBC, fourth-seed St. Francis (N.Y.), and then Robert Morris, getting 17 points from NEC Player of the Year Rick Mickens. After Robert Morris closed within 43-40 with 8:25 left, the Blue Devils went on a 13-2 run to ice the game.

Starting Lineup

• PG Tomas Brookins (6-2, 175, Sr.): He is the only player to start all 30 games, a steadying offensive influence who doesn't look to score but distributes nicely and is a fierce defender. When CCSU plays man-to-man defense he is usually lined up against the opponents' top guard. He helped hound Robert Morris star Gene Nabors in the NEC final, and Nabors scored only five points after scoring 73 in the previous two tournament games.
• SG Rick Mickens (6-4, 195, Sr.): The team's leading scorer (17.7), Mickens also ranks second in the nation with 3.6 steals per game. He can break down defenders one-on-one or step back and hit the jumper -- he's shooting 41 percent from behind the arc. He scored in double figures in all 25 games in which he played.
• C Corsley Edwards (6-9, 270, So.): Edwards is agile for his size, averaging 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds, leading the team in blocks (55). He is already second on the school's all-time shot blocking list with 115. He has 10 double-doubles this season, when few NEC teams could match up against him inside.
• SF John Tice (6-5, 215, Jr.): A transfer from Fairfield, he's the player who put CCSU over the top this season, starting 24 regular-season games and averaging 14.8 points and 5.1 rebounds. Tice is a fearless player who will take the big shot and break down a defender one-on-one, giving CCSU two such players, an NEC rarity. He shot 43 percent from 3-point range in NEC games.
• SF Victor Payne (6-4, 210, Sr.): With Edwards inside and Tice on the other flank, Payne provides ball-handling savvy and leaping ability, which enabled him to register team-leading averages of 3.3 assists and 7.9 rebounds.

Keys to Success

Defense, rebounding, balanced scoring and depth are CCSU trademarks this season.

Especially defense.

CCSU is holding the opposition to 37.6 percent shooting, best in the NEC and one of the best marks in the nation. CCSU also led the NEC in 3-point defense (30.1 percent) and blocks (5.1 per game). Two players -- 6-9 sophomore Corsley Edwards and 6-4 senior Victor Payne -- both averaged almost eight rebounds per game. They helped CCSU control the glass; the Blue Devils outrebounded their opponents by six per game.

Getting production from guard Rick Mickens -- the NEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year -- is always key, but he's not a one-man show.

Four players averaged in double figures -- Mickens, Tice, Edwards and sixth man Dean Walker -- and Central Connecticut rotated four players in off the bench with good-to-decent backups at every position.

Walker, who played behind Mickens, was a starter in reserve's clothing.

The Coach

Howie Dickenman, a 1970 graduate of CCSU and a basketball legend in Connecticut, is in his fourth season as the Blue Devils coach after spending the prior 14 as an assistant at UConn. Dickenman has gone 44-18 in the past two seasons after taking over a program that had suffered through 11 consecutive losing seasons. He went 8-19 and 4-22 before turning it around. His CCSU total: 56-59.

In his playing days at CCSU, Dickenman was an All-American, two-time team captain and the first player in school history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

The bench

Walker, a 6-5 junior (10.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) was probably the best sixth man in the NEC, playing in all 30 games and starting two. He led the NEC in foul shooting (85.9 percent) and was second on the team to Edwards in blocked shots.

Senior guard Bryan Finley provides depth at the point and scored a career high 21 points vs. Fairfield; 6-6 junior Harvey Van Stein started four games; 6-10 junior Jeremy Bergh was a more than adequate relief presence for Edwards.

Offense

The Devils average 73.5 points, shoot 35.7 percent from 3-point range, 45.0 percent overall. To be competitive in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they will have to shoot it better from long range than they did in three NEC Tournament games -- 9 of 41.

Defense

The Blue Devils play different extended zones, throwing in some half court traps. The 1-2-2 zone has Mickens out front, and the 2-3 zone has the long-armed Mickens and Walker at the top. Both zones have been disruptive. Opponents are shooting 29.8 percent on their 3-point shots.