GAME DAY INFORMATION
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DATE: Nov. 20, 2021
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LOCATION: Ted Grant Court | Syracuse, N.Y.
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GAME DAY LINKS
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LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
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THE LEAD
The Chargers wrap up their season opening trip through the Empire State on Saturday when they travel to Syracuse for a date with the Le Moyne Dolphins. The meeting will be the first of two against their NE10 Divisional foe.
Following Saturday's game in Syracuse, the Chargers will make their debut at Charger Gym on Tuesday evening when they host the Pace Setters for the second half a doubleheader with the women's team.
LAST TIME THEY MET...
New Haven and Le Moyne met three times in 2019-20, twice in the regular season and in the NE10 tournament
The Dolphins took both ends of the home-and-home series against UNH, winning in West Haven 75-73 in OT and in Syracuse 69-65.
New Haven won when it mattered most, in the quarterfinals of the NE10 Championship 75-73 in Syracuse.
Of the three returning starters, it was point guard Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) who did the most damage in the three games against Le Moyne, finishing with 14, 15 and 16 points in the three games, while also racking up 13 assists combined.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS (3-0, 0-0 NE10)
Through the first three games of the year, New Haven is outscoring its opponents by more than 33 points, with junior Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) doing most of that damage, averaging 22.7 points across the three victories.
Thomas' hot start early led to him being named the NE10 Player of the Week following opening weekend after recording his third career double-double putting up 31 points, a new career high, and 10 rebounds in the season opener against Staten Island. He followed that up the next day hitting five three pointers in the first 20 minutes, finishing with 23 points.
In that second game against D'Youville, Davontrey wasn't alone in the 20+ club as Antonio Lopez (Medford, N.Y./St. Anthony's) was the second player to score a new career-high, draining 21 points while picking off a pair of steals.
In its most recent game against Molloy, it was senior Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) who joined Thomas in leading the way with each putting up 14 points, while Lane adding seven boards.
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS (1-1, 0-0 NE10)
After a preseason exhibition against Division I Syracuse on November 1, the Dolphins opened the regular season splitting a pair of non-conference games before hosting the Chargers this afternoon. Le Moyne opened the year with squeezing out a 97-96 victory over Roberts Wesleyan before surrendering 106 points to No. 18 Indiana (Pa.) in road loss.
Coming into this afternoon's NE10 and home opener for the Dolphins, redshirt freshman Kevin Constant leads the team averaging 18 points per game, while shooting an impressive 63.6 percent (14-of-22).
UP NEXT
New Haven will finally make its debut at Charger Gym when they return to the court on Tuesday, November 23 to host the Pace Setters in an NE10 Southwest Division match-up. Tip-off from Charger Gym is scheduled for no earlier than 7:30 p.m. following the women's game against the Setters. As always, fans that cannot make the game can follow all the action live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW.
THOMAS TAKES ALL
The Chargers tipped off their 2021-22 season with a 2-0 performance at the CSI Tip-off Tournament in Staten Island. Not only did they bring home two victories, but junior Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) also brought home an NE10 Honor.
Thomas set the bar high for himself this season, raking in 54 points over the course of two games. In the first game against the host school, College of Staten Island, Thomas grabbed his third career double-double and set a new career-high in scoring with 31 points. He followed that stellar performance up the next day against D'Youville with 23 points and seven boards.
Throughout the weekend, the Poughkeepsie native saw 54 minutes of court action. Within those minutes on the floor Thomas went 9-of-10 from the stripe, shot 64.3 percent from the field, and swished nine shots from outside the arc. All while grabbing 17 rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
BLACKJACK
The 3-0 start to the 2021-22 season is the best for the Chargers since opening the 2018-19 campaign 5-0. That season, the Chargers finished with 21 wins, advancing to the NCAA D2 East Region Championship. Prior to the 2018-19 campaign it had been more than two decades since the Chargers opened up the season on a hot streak. You have to look back to the 1989-90 season to find the next best, with the Blue and Gold opening that campaign 9-0, and to no surprise, they also closed out that year with 21 victories.
THREE POINT THREAT
Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) is a threat to opponents when he handles the ball behind the arc. As of right now, he is tied in sixth place for career-threes next to D.J. Sackmann from 2005-09. Rowland committed 69 made threes in the 2019-20 season and if he matches that statistic this season he will have bumped up to third place knocking out former teammate Elijah Bailey with 213 from 2016-20.
PRESEASON PROPS
In a poll of all head coaches, the University of New Haven men's basketball team was selected to finish second in the Southwest Division of the Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Poll. Overall, New Haven finished just four points behind the first place choice, Adelphi, while also earning three of the 14 possible first place votes.
New Haven registered 74 points in the poll, while Adelphi earned the top spot with 78 points and six first place tallies. Following the Panthers and Chargers in the Southwest Division is Southern Connecticut who earned four first place votes but finished with 69 points, while Le Moyne garnered the final first place vote and 56 points overall to finish fourth. Pace, American International and Saint Rose round out the Southwest Division with Pace earning 48 points for fifth place and the Yellow Jackets and Golden Knights finishing in a deadlock for sixth place with 30 points apiece.
THE SCHEDULE
This seasons schedule is set to include 26 games, 13 of which will be played in the Charger Gymnasium. Following this tournament, the Blue and Gold will see four non-conference opponents before consistent NE10 play starts in the new calendar year.
The Chargers open up the season with a big test, playing four of their first five games away from the friendly confines of Charger Gymnasium. All of their road games in the month of November take place in the Empire state.
Among the 13 Northeast-10 Conference opponents, the Chargers will play their six divisional opponents twice; Adelphi, Southern Connecticut State, Saint Rose, Pace, Le Moyne and American International.
New Haven will play six non-conference games including the College of Staten Island, D'Youville, Molloy, Dominican, Chestnut Hill, and Bridgeport.
The Chargers kickoff the new year with a matchup against Adelphi at home.
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
If you haven't visited North Campus recently you haven't seen the construction taking place adjacent to Charger Gymnasium. The site is the future home of the Peterson Performance Center, a state of the art facility that will house strength and condition, sports medicine, a new football locker room and meetings space with the ability to be tailored for the many different needs of all 18 varsity Charger athletic teams. The entire facility will measure 7,000 square feet and house 20 Olympic style weightlifting racks and a 60-yard turf agility and conditioning area. To learn more visit ChargerAthleticsFund.com.
