2014 Northeast-10 Championship Game
#2 SW New Haven (21-7) at #1 SW Southern Connecticut State (26-2)
Saturday, March 8 - 1 p.m.
New Haven, Conn. - Moore Field House
Live Video | Live Stats | NE-10 Championship Central

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
The University of New Haven men's basketball team travels to crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State for the 2014 Northeast-10 Championship Game. The top two seeds in the NE-10 Southwest Division are both appearing in the NE-10 finals for the first time.
 
Chargers in the NE-10 Championship
Now in their sixth season as a member of Northeast-10, the Chargers are in the midst of their third overall and third consecutive appearance in the NE-10 postseason. This winter, New Haven has advanced beyond the quarterfinal round for the first time.
 
In 2011-12, New Haven won a First Round game at Pace before falling in the NE-10 Quarterfinals at Adelphi. Last season, the third-seeded Chargers hosted Southern New Hampshire in the Quarterfinal round and were edged in overtime, 79-75.
 
New Haven Postseason History
The Chargers' last appearance in a conference championship game was a trip to the New England Collegiate Conference final against Bridgeport (L, 113-104) during the 1988-89 campaign.
 
New Haven has made six prior appearances in the NCAA postseason, including last season's trip to the East Region semifinals. The Chargers recorded wins on the national stage in 1988 (vs. Quinnipiac), 2003 (vs. Southern New Hampshire) and 2013 (vs. Dominican).
 
Early in the program's varsity history, the Chargers made three appearances at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Tournament in Kansas City. New Haven was defeated in the opening round in 1966 and 1969 and earned the first national postseason win in program history with a triumph over Albany State (Ga.) at the 1968 tournament.
 
New Haven Notes
Wednesday's win in the NE-10 Semifinals moved the Chargers to 21-7 overall this season. Following last season's 20-9 campaign, New Haven has clinched back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2002-03 (21-10) and 2003-04 (21-9) campaigns. A 22-win season would be New Haven's highest victory total since the 1987-88 squad went 26-5 en route to an NCAA regional berth. That team fell in the regional championship game to the eventual national champion, the University of Lowell (now Massachusetts-Lowell).
 
In the latest NCAA report (through games played March 6), New Haven ranks fifth in Division II with 62.2 points allowed per game. The Chargers also slot fourth in the nation in fewest turnovers committed per contest (9.3) and 11th in field goal percentage defense (39.8 percent). The Blue and Gold have also committed the fewest fouls per game in all of Division II with just 13.7 infractions per contest.
 
The Chargers have held 26 of 28 opponents below their current 2013-14 scoring average, limiting 15 foes to 60 points or fewer. New Haven has not ceded 80 points in regulation in a game this season.
 
Offensively, the Blue and Gold shot 50 percent or better from the field in eight contests this winter. Wednesday's win at Saint Anselm marked two season-bests with 85 points scored and a 55.4 field goal percentage - the program's highest since shooting 57.1 percent from the floor at Dowling on Nov. 13, 2011.
 
Coming off of their season-high offensive output, the Chargers have scored more than 80 points in consecutive games for the first time since netting 86 points in a win at Concordia and pouring in 83 in a home victory over Mercy during the 2007-08 campaign.
 
The Chargers' 12-3 road tally marks the NCAA-era program record for road wins, surpassing the 1987-88 squad that won 11 of its 14 true road games en route to a 25-6 overall finish. The Blue and Gold have posted a winning record on the road in each of the last three seasons after a stretch of seven consecutive sub-.500 campaigns away from Charger Gymnasium from 2004-11. New Haven currently sports a better road winning percentage (.800) than home winning percentage (.692) for the first time since the 1985-86 campaign.
 
With 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the Feb. 15 win over Pace, Eric Anderson became the 34th member of the Chargers' 1,000-Point Club. He has since increased his total to 1,077 career points and risen to 31st all-time. This winter, Anderson averages 16.1 points and ranks second in the Northeast-10 with 11.9 rebounds per game. The two-time NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year and a 2013-14 First Team All-NE-10 honoree, Anderson also ranks second in the conference with 2.54 blocks per contest. He slots fourth in the nation on the boards and 17th in rejections. The junior has posted 19 double-doubles this season.
 
In the midst of his third campaign with the Blue and Gold, Anderson has claimed the New Haven all-time record with 193 career blocked shots, surpassing the 191 shots turned away by Herb Watkins from 1984-88.
 
The only player in program history with 70 or more blocks in two seasons, Anderson's 71 rejections this winter are second-most in a single-season in Charger history, tied with himself (2012-13) and Bill Jeffress and two shy of Watkins' program-record 73 rejections.
 
Jeffery Adkins most recently netted a game-high 23 points in Wednesday's win at Saint Anselm to improve his career mark to 1,266 points and climb to 19th all-time in scoring at New Haven. This season, Adkins is averaging a team-leading 16.2 points as well as a team-best 4.5 assists per contest while shooting 51.5 percent (156-303) from the floor and 81.5 percent (110-135) from the free throw line en route to Second Team All-Northeast-10 honors. He has also moved into fourth all-time in assists at New Haven with 394 and is in 10th place in steals at 132.
 
Justin Exum has improved his New Haven program record to 290 treys. He ranks fifth among all active Division II student-athletes and 16th across all NCAA divisions in made three-pointers. Exum's career .376 shooting percentage from distance is the sixth-best in program history.
 
An All-Northeast-10 Honorable Mention this season, Exum also ranks 11th all-time in scoring at New Haven with 1,612 career points. The Chargers' third-leading scorer this season with 15.4 points per game, he is 15 tallies shy of Phil Andros (1,627 career points) the program's all-time top 10. Exum most recently scored 21 points in Wednesday's win at Saint Anselm.
 
With both Anderson and Adkins joining Exum in the 34-member 1,000-Point Club, the Chargers boast three active 1,000-point scorers for the first time since Brian Smith (1,936), Mike Grove (1,589) and Dwane Crawford (1,095) shared the court in the 1992-93 season.
 
The Chargers' All-Northeast-10 trio combined for 65 of the club's 85 points in Wednesday's semifinal win at Saint Anselm, as Adkins scored 23 points while Anderson and Exum each tallied 21. Three Chargers last scored 20 or more points in the same game on Jan. 20, 1993 when Jason Williams poured in 34 points, Dwane Crawford notched 26 points and Mike Grove registered 23 points in a 106-96 home win over Bridgeport.
 
Cyrus James has recorded the first two double-doubles of his career this season. He is New Haven's most efficient scorer at 70-for-125 (56 percent) from the floor en route to 6.0 points to go along with 7.7 rebounds per game. James ranks 10th in the NE-10 in rebounding and eighth in blocked shots (1.25 bpg).
 
In his first season as a member of the starting lineup, Ashanti DePass is netting 9.7 points with 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. The senior has knocked down 56 three-pointers and converts 35.2 percent of his attempts from distance while playing 32.7 minutes per outing. Additionally, DePass is often charged with defending the opposition's top scorer from the perimeter.
 
Fourth-year head coach Ted Hotaling stands at 64-47 at New Haven (and in his head coaching career) following Wednesday's win at Saint Anselm. He ranks fifth all-time in wins on the Chargers' sidelines and his .577 winning percentage is third in New Haven history.
 
Of the nine head coaches in New Haven men's basketball history, eight of them have coached at least 100 games for the Chargers. Hotaling's 55-45 mark through 100 contests was the best since Stu Grove went 63-37 en route to a program-record 253 wins from 1980-1995. Don Ormrod leads the list with an 85-15 mark while leading New Haven's first five varsity seasons and finished his tenure at 124-22 with a program-best .849 winning percentage from 1961-67. Ormrod was also the first Director of Athletics at New Haven College.
 
In the NCAA Regional Rankings
New Haven has been ranked No. 3 in the most recent NCAA East Region Rankings, while Southern Connecticut State owns the top spot on the ledger. The Owls are the presumptive host of NCAA East Region Championship, which begins Saturday, March 15. This week's rankings are the final public announcement prior to the unveiling of the entire NCAA Division II Championship field on Sunday, March 9 at 10:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.