BOX SCORE OAKDALE, N.Y. - The University of New Haven men's basketball team earned a critical non-conference and East Region matchup Saturday afternoon at Dowling College, 66-59. The Chargers were paced by Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) who recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 boards. 

New Haven improved to 9-3 overall after the victory. The Golden Lions dropped to 10-2 on the season with the loss.

Anderson went 5-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 at the free throw line to earn his 16 points. Two of his 10 rebounds came on the offensive end, while he also rejected three shots in the win. Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) and Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) each added 13 points. Jonny Ocasio (Queens, N.Y./Charlotte (Fla.) / Hillsborough Community College) netted a career-best 10 points off 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

New Haven held a slight advantage in field goal shooting (45.7 percent/42.9 percent), but held a drastic lead in free throw shooting (86.4 percent/40.0 percent). The Chargers, who led for over 32 minutes in the game, also held a narrow 30-29 advantage on the boards.

The first five minutes were back-and-forth with the home team leading by three at 15:36. Over the next three minutes, the Chargers turned the tables and when on an 8-2 run to take a 13-10 lead. New Haven improved its lead to as many as six points four different times during a three-minute stretch in the first half. With 6:14 left in the first half, Exum hit a three-pointer and pushed the Chargers ahead 27-21. Dowling concluded the half with a 9-2 run and took a one-point lead into halftime, 30-29.

Cyrus James (Manchester, Conn./Howell Cheney Tech) scored the first basket of the second half 1:34 into the period and regained the lead for good. Adkins sunk a trifecta at the 14:51 mark to push UNH's lead to eight points, tying their largest of the afternoon. Dowling narrowed the Chargers' lead back to three points twice in the final 10 minutes, but New Haven held on for a seven-point victory. New Haven connected on 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes to secure their second win of 2014.  

The Chargers concluded their non-conference slate on Saturday and open their Northeast-10 Conference cross-divisional play on Wednesday, January 8 when they welcome Saint Anselm College. Game time at Charger Gymnasium is set for 3:30 p.m.