GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: December 3, 2022 LOCATION: Charger Gymnasium, West Haven, Conn. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

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Lead
The University of New Haven men's basketball finished off their road trip with a commanding 81-54 win over the American International Yellow Jackets on Wednesday night. The 27-point difference was the widest margin of victory so far this season as the team held AIC to season-low in points. The Chargers, who are now at the top of the NE10 standings with a 3-1 conference record, will look to extend their win streak with the visiting Franklin Pierce Ravens in town. Tip-off for the sixth game of the season is scheduled for 3:30 P.M. on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Charger Gymnasium.

Inside the Series 
This Saturday marks the 50th meeting between these two conferences foes as the visiting Ravens hold the slight advantage in the series with a 25-24 record over the Chargers. Despite trailing in the all-time series, New Haven has won six of their last seven games against Franklin Pierce. The series dates back to Dec. 2, 1985 when the Ravens handed New Haven their first loss of the season in tightly contested 71-72 defeat. The Chargers would go on to win six straight games over Franklin Pierce since losing the inaugural game, the longest win streak for either team in the series. Last time the two met, senior center Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./) helped lead the Chargers to a dominating 84-55 win on the road with a 12 point-16 rebound performance.

Scouting the Ravens (4-2, 2-1 NE10)
The Franklin Pierce Ravens finished the 2021-22 regular season with an 15-9 record before making a run in the Northeast-10 Championship. The Ravens took down American International, Assumption and Pace before falling short of the Championship title in a 68-62 loss to the Bentley Falcons. Franklin Pierce also made an appearance in the NCAA Championship East Regional but fell in the first round to Saint Thomas Aquinas, 69-76.

Despite the playoff run last season, the Franklin Pierce men's basketball team was selected seventh in the Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Poll with 67 points.

After dropping their season-opener to Holy Family in 69-63 loss, the Ravens won three-straight games including a 78-74 win over conference opponent, Assumption on Nov. 19. Forward Sean Bresnan led the Ravens to their first win in NE10 play with a 25 point-11 rebound double-double while going a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. 

Most recently, the Ravens then split a pair of conference games against Saint Anselm and Le Moyne, defeating the latter 68-63 for their second conference win. The Hawks of Saint A's handed Franklin Pierce their second loss on the season and first loss in conference in a 94-78 contest.

Sophomore guard Mohamed Traore has been the lead scorer for Franklin Pierce, averaging 15.2 points per game in six appearances, all of which were starts. Traore is also averaging 4.5 rebounds per game and 3.5 assists per game, the latter of the two stats leads the team.

As a team the Ravens have gone 63-of-154 from beyond the arc as their 40.9 percent three-point shooting ranks second in the Northeast-10. Traore and senior guard Brandon Kolek, who is averaging 13.7 points, have combined for 37 three-pointers on 83 attempts.

Bresnan, who tied a season-high in rebounds his last time out with 11, is the team's rebound leader as he enters the matchup pulling down 6.5 boards per game. Coming off his second double-double of the season, the junior forward has also racked up 12.5 points per game on 50 percent shooting.

On defense, Traore has recorded seven steals on the season while Bresnan and forward JB Mukeba have each blocked a pair of shots.

Through six games, Franklin Pierce has scored an average of 75.3 points per game, third in the conference, while holding opponents to 73.2 points on average. The Ravens are shooting 44.7 percent from the floor, 40.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 57.3 percent from the free-throw line. As a squad, the Ravens average 36 rebounds while ranking second in assists per game with 16.5, as well as eighth in steals with 6.3 per game. 

Scouting the Chargers (3-2, 3-1 NE10)
Looking to bounce back after falling just short to #3 Indiana (Pa.), the Chargers finished off their road trip with a dominant 81-54 win over the Yellow Jackets of American International. The 27-point margin of victory was the largest win so far for the Chargers while American International's 54 was the least amount of points allowed this year. This was the Chargers' ninth win in the past ten meetings with the Yellow Jackets as their conference record extends to 3-1 on the year. Four Chargers racked up double-digit points including sophomore guard Justin Hendrick (Valley Stream, N.Y./St. Francis), who recorded a season-high 12 points.

 Leading the Chargers on the night with 16 points was Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie), who has scored 14+ points in every game to start the season. Nearly all of the the junior forward's points against AIC came from beyond the arc as he tied a career-high with five three-pointers on 11 attempts. 

Ty Perry (Boston, Mass./Brighton) and Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) both finished with exactly 14 points while the latter of the two put up seven field goals as opposed to Perry's five. Perry added four points at the free throw line where he was 4-of-5. Combined, the pair shot 12-of-17 from the field, while as a team, the Chargers shot 53.7 percent, making 29-54 attempts, including a season-high 10 three-pointers.

Majak, who recorded his lone block within the first minute of play, shot 3-of-6 from the floor to finish with six points while also grabbing 11 rebounds. Majak tied a season-high in rebounds which he previously set in last weekend's loss to #3 Indiana (Pa.). The senior has also pulled in 10+ rebounds in each of his last three games as he currently sits second in the conference with nine rebounds per game. Majak averages 8.2 points per game while leading all conference scorers with a 73.1 field goal percentage.

As a team, the Chargers finished the night with a 43-19 advantage in rebounding, including a season-high 11 offensive boards which New Haven turned into 15 second chance points. The Chargers continue to assault the paint as the outscored the Yellow Jackets, 34-20 on the inside. New Haven forced six turnovers but converted them in 14 points on offense.

Despite only forcing six turnovers, the New Haven defense was still as persistent as it's been all year. The Chargers held American International to 20-of-56 shooting (35.7 percent) while also limiting them to making nine of their 30 three-point attempts (30.%). The team ranks second in the Northeast-10 in both of those categories as they have held opponents to 38.8 percent shooting from the floor. On the other end, the offense averages 73.2 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting, second most in the conference.

When and Where 
Now 3-2 on the season (3-1 in conference play), the University of New Haven men's basketball team will return to Charger Gymnasium after a three-game road trip for the first time since Nov. 19. Tip-off for the start of the homestand is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3:30 P.M with live play-by-play stats on NewHavenChargers.com and coverage on Chargers Sports Network.