Box Score

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Freshman Justin Exum pumped in a team-high 21 points on Saturday evening, but the University of New Haven men’s basketball team was defeated by Merrimack College by the final score of 89-70 at Volpe Gymnasium. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 4-14 on the season and 3-12 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Warriors improved to 10-8, 6-8 in the league.

Behind the stellar play of Darin Mency, the Warriors offense posed a difficult challenge for the Chargers. Merrimack connected on nearly 50 percent of its shot attempts and tossed in 13 from behind the arc. Mency finished with a game-high 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting, pacing an offense that collected 25 assists. The Warriors also controlled the boards, out-rebounding the Chargers by a margin of nine.

New Haven played tough for the opening 10 minutes and the entire second half. However, the end of the first half is where Merrimack separated itself from the Chargers. The Warriors closed out the first half with a 26-16 run, capturing a 49-34 halftime lead.

The Chargers fought hard to cut into their deficit but couldn’t overcome Mency and the Warriors offense. Exum led the Chargers offense with 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including six from long distance. Jeremy Williams continued his hot stretch with 16 points, while Robert Jamerson and Jeffery Adkins also reached double-digits with 12 and 10, respectively.

Wayne Mack and Aaron Strothers were the only other players with 10 or more points. Mack finished with 19 and Strothers added 12 for the hosting Warriors.

The Chargers return to action on Monday, January 31 with a make-up game against New York Institute of Technology. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.