WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven men's basketball team began Thursday's meeting with visiting Southern New Hampshire on a 16-0 run and kept the Penmen at bay to claim a 61-55 non-conference victory. Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) led all players with 20 points for the Chargers.
 
With the win, New Haven improves to 8-3 with the defending Northeast-10 Champion Penmen fall to 5-6. The clubs will meet as a part of the NE-10 schedule on Jan. 28 in Manchester, N.H.
 
Exum's 20 points were fueled by a 12-for-15 performance from the free throw line, including 11 from the stripe in the second half. The senior moved past Bill Jeffress and into 14th all-time in program history with 1,371 career points.
 
Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) racked up his ninth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-leading 16 rebounds. Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) and Ashanti DePass (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) each added 11 points, with Adkins adding five rebounds and three assists. Jonny Ocasio (Queens, N.Y./Charlotte (Fla.) / Hillsborough Community College) contributed three points, Jemal Mosley (Spring Valley, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep / Putnam Science Academy) had two and Samir McDaniels (Roxbury, Mass./New Mission) rounded out the scoring with one point.
 
As a unit, the Chargers shot 18-for-50 (36 percent) from the field, 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) from three-point range and 23-for-32 (71.9 percent) from the free throw line. New Haven outrebounded the Penmen, 46-34, and scored 28 points in the paint.
 
Southern New Hampshire, which was led by 13 points and seven rebounds from CJ Marriro, held an 11-7 edge in turnovers and netted 20 points off miscues. The Penmen shot 21-for-60 (35 percent) from the floor, 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from beyond the arc and 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
Anderson and Adkins each scored six points during the opening stretch that saw the Chargers race out to a 16-0 advantage. Southern New Hampshire got on the board with an Elijah Bonsignore jumper at the 12:22 mark in the first half, but an Anderson layup and Exum three-point play soon had New Haven out to its largest lead of the game at 23-5 with 8:28 to play in the period. The squads traded points for the remainder of the frame, sending the Chargers into the intermission with a 33-18 lead.
 
The Penmen started the second half on an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 36-29 before New Haven's first field goal of the period. A three-point play from DePass ended the drought, but Southern New Hampshire responded with a 15-5 stretch capped by a three-pointer from Mike Stys with 9:28 left to tie the contest for the first time, 44-44.
 
On the ensuing New Haven possession, DePass went up-and-under for a layup and Exum added a pair of free throws to put the Chargers on top for the remainder of the game. Cyrus James (Manchester, Conn./Howell Cheney Tech) picked up a pair of second-half blocks to preserve the lead as Southern New Hampshire struggled to score against the fourth-ranked defense in the nation. Despite going without a field goal for the final 5:08 of the outing – following a Mosley jumper to take a 54-50 lead – the Blue and Gold shot 7-for-10 from the free throw line during that span to seal the victory by a final score of 61-55.
 
The Chargers return to the court on Saturday to conclude the non-conference slate with a trip to Dowling. Action returns to West Haven and cross-division play begins with a Wednesday matinee against Saint Anselm on Jan. 8 at 3:30 p.m.