MANCHESTER, N.H. – The University of New Haven men's basketball team used its best offensive performance of the season to knock off host Saint Anselm, 85-58, in a Northeast-10 Championship Semifinal on Wednesday evening in Manchester, N.H. The Chargers advance to meet crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State on Saturday, March 8 at 1 p.m. at the Owls' Moore Field House. Both teams will be vying for their first-ever NE-10 Championship.
 
With the win, New Haven improves to 21-7 on the season. The Chargers are the No. 2 seed in the NE-10 Southwest Division. Saint Anselm, which is the NE-10 Northeast Division's top-seeded club, drops to 20-7.
 
The Blue and Gold scored a season-high 85 points and also set a season-best mark in field goal percentage at 31-for-56 (55.4 percent) in the contest. On the defensive end, the Chargers held a Saint Anselm team averaging 87.3 points per game to a season-low 58 points.
 
Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) led the New Haven offense with 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) added 21 points and 11 rebounds to complete his 19th double-double of the season, and Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) also netted 21 points sparked by three three-pointers. As a unit, the Chargers shot 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the arc and added a 15-for-18 (83.3 percent) showing at the free throw line.
 
Rounding out the offense from the starters were Cyrus James (Manchester, Conn./Howell Cheney Tech) with seven points to go along with eight rebounds and three blocked shots and Ashanti DePass (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) with three points.
 
Off the bench, Jemal Mosley (Spring Valley, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep / Putnam Science Academy) added five points, Samir McDaniels (Roxbury, Mass./New Mission) scored three and Jonny Ocasio (Queens, N.Y./Charlotte (Fla.) / Hillsborough Community College) netted two.
 
Anderson also blocked four shots to surpass Herb Watkins as New Haven's all-time leader in blocks. The two-time Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year has turned away 193 shots in his Chargers' career.
 
Led by Anderson's 11 rebounds, New Haven earned a decisive 39-19 advantage on the glass including 10 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points. The Chargers committed eight turnovers and forced five.
 
Chris Santo led Saint Anselm with 13 points. The Hawks were limited to 20-for-53 (37.7 percent) shooting from the floor, 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) from beyond the arc and 13-for-19 (68.4 percent) at the stripe.
 
The Chargers broke open an early 16-13 edge with seven consecutive points, capped by an Exum three to claim a 23-13 edge with 8:31 to go in the first half. Back-to-back triples from Adkins and McDaniels soon increased the advantage to 30-15, and another Exum trey grew the lead further at 35-17. The offensive barrage concluded at the horn, as Mosley knocked down a 32-footer to send New Haven into the locker room with a 46-27 lead.
 
The Blue and Gold shot 18-for-30 (60 percent) from the field in the opening period with a 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) performance from three-point territory.
 
The margin grew to 30 points on an Adkins layup at the 14:10 mark of the second frame, as the Chargers continued to score to put the game away. An Ocasio layup in the final minute put the finishing touches on an 85-58 triumph.
 
Also the No. 3-ranked team in the NCAA East Region, the Chargers will travel to Southern Connecticut State on Saturday, March 8 for the team's first appearance in the NE-10 Championship Game in six seasons as a member of the conference. Tip-off from Moore Field house is set for 1 p.m. The Owls are the top-ranked team in the region and slot at No. 6 nationally.