WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Junior guard Jemal Mosley (Spring Valley, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep / Putnam Science Academy) paced the University of New Haven men's basketball team with 22 points as the Chargers defeated NE-10 Northeast Division foe Franklin Pierce 67-51 on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Chargers improve to 6-11 overall and 3-8 in the Northeast-10.
Joining Mosley in leading the Chargers was sophomore Levy Gillespie (Meriden, Conn./Capital Preparatory Magnet) and senior Samir McDaniels (Roxbury, Mass./New Mission) who finished with 17 and 10 points, respectively. McDaniels also added a season-high 11 rebounds, which ties the season-best for all players set earlier this season by classmate Joshua Guddemi (Nottingham, England/Derby) against Concordia. The double double for McDaniels is his second of the season, the only two all year for a Charger. It is also the third of his career.
As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 47.4 percent from the field, making 27-of-57 attempts, including eight of those field goals from beyond the three point arc. The eight three pointers came on 29 attempts for an average of 27.6 for the contest. New Haven also finished 5-of-5 at the free throw line.
Individually, Mosley led the shooting efforts as he missed just five of his 13 field goal attempts for an average of 62 percent, while four of his eight field goals came from beyond the arc. Gillespie would also shoot well for the game as he finished 7-of-14 overall for a 50 percent effort, with three of his seven field goals from long range.
McDaniels team-high 11 rebounds were part of 29 total for the game as the Chargers trailed Franklin Pierce (8-8, 5-6 NE-10) in that column. Overall, six other players pulled in at least two rebounds with redshirt freshman Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) following McDaniels with five boards. Guddemi closed out the game with a team-high four assists, while also blocking a shot and contributing seven points.
After trailing early in the game by a bucket, the Chargers went on their first run of the game, a 10-0 rally that provided an eight point advantage with just over four minutes off the clock. Three different Chargers found the hoop during that rally with back-to-back baskets from Mosley capping it off.
Following a four minute stretch of trading baskets with the Ravens, the Chargers would rally again, this time extending their lead into double figures for the first time with a 9-0 run that turned into an 11-1 rally and provided a 16 point lead with just under four minutes remaining before the break.
The Chargers largest lead of the half came with 2:16 remaining when Bourke drained his first, and only, three pointer of the game off a feed from Mosley that provided a 36-17 advantage. New Haven would take a 36-19 lead into the locker room, led by a 13 point performance by Mosley.
Coming out of the intermission, New Haven extended its lead to its largest of the game when they began the half holding the Ravens scoreless for nearly three minutes and scored twice in that stretch to take a 40-19 advantage.
Franklin Pierce would respond by scoring five straight to cut into the Chargers lead but New Haven would keep the pressure on and never allow the Ravens to cut into single digits until the halfway mark of the second half. That single digit, nine point, deficit for the Ravens was short lived as the Chargers answered back with an 8-0 rally that regained a 17 point lead with 6:34 remaining.
Overall for the second half, Gillespie would lead the Chargers with 11 of his 17 total points coming in the final 20 minutes. Mosley chipped in nine second half points.
New Haven will return to the road for its next two games with stops at Southern New Hampshire and Saint Michaels next on the docket. First up will be a Saturday afternoon match up with the SNHU Penmen as part of a doubleheader with the women's team. Tip off in the men's game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
