Central Connecticut beats St. Francis (Brooklyn) 78-75 in OT

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NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) Joe Hugley scored 20 points and made a key 3-pointer in overtime to help Central Connecticut beat St. Francis (Brooklyn) 78-75 on Saturday in a Northeast Conference regular season finale.

Central Connecticut (14-17, 7-11) clinched the No. 8 seed heading to the conference tournament. St. Francis (13-17, 10-8) will be the fifth or sixth seed.

Hugley hit a trey with 1:07 left that gave the Blue Devils a 74-73 lead. Milija Coic answered with a layup for St. Francis, then Eric Bowles took the ball near midcourt and drove the floor for the go-ahead score, and Tyler Kohl added two free throws to seal it for Central Connecticut.

Mustafa Jones and Kohl finished with 14 points for the Blue Devils.

Rasheem Dunn scored 20 points to lead St. Francis. Glenn Sanabria added 15 points, but missed a layup and a 3 in overtime for the Terriers.

Shakaris Laney made a diving steal with 21.3 seconds remaining in regulation that led to two free throws from Bowles to force overtime tied at 69.