LIU hosts Cent. Conn. St. following Smith's 20-point showing

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Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (6-5) at Long Island Sharks (6-7)

New York; Friday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Cent. Conn. St. plays LIU after Darin Smith Jr. scored 20 points in Cent. Conn. St.'s 84-70 loss to the Fairfield Stags.

The Sharks have gone 2-1 in home games. LIU ranks eighth in the NEC with 21.2 defensive rebounds per game led by Jamal Fuller averaging 4.1.

The Blue Devils are 3-4 in road games. Cent. Conn. St. scores 79.2 points and has outscored opponents by 7.7 points per game.

LIU makes 47.8% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.8 percentage points higher than Cent. Conn. St. has allowed to its opponents (42.0%). Cent. Conn. St. averages 79.2 points per game, 2.0 fewer than the 81.2 LIU allows to opponents.

The Sharks and Blue Devils face off Friday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Fuller averages 1.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Sharks, scoring 15.5 points while shooting 47.8% from beyond the arc. Malachi Davis is shooting 45.5% and averaging 17.6 points over the last 10 games.

Smith is shooting 48.4% and averaging 20.0 points for the Blue Devils. Max Frazier is averaging 11.0 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sharks: 4-6, averaging 75.9 points, 30.8 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 8.4 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.5 points per game.

Blue Devils: 5-5, averaging 75.4 points, 33.2 rebounds, 15.2 assists, 6.7 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.