GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: November 18, 2023
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LOCATION: Dana Center | Waltham, Mass. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE LEAD
After a trio of warmups, the Chargers are set to open up their 22 game Northeast-10 Conference Schedule on Saturday afternoon when they make the trip to Waltham, Mass. to meet up with the Bentley Falcons.
SCOUTING NEW HAVEN
Three games into the season and youth continues to be the name of the game for the Chargers with two of the top three scorers playing their first seasons of collegiate ball. Leading the way is Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) who put on a scoring clinic in his collegiate debut when he drained 35 points, going 14-of-21 from the field against Post, and for the season is averaging 19.0 points per game. Next up on the rookie train is Ethan Simmon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph Metuchen) who redshirt last season and it has paid off as he scored in double figures in the first two Chargers games, putting up 17 in the opener and following it up with 11 the next day against Wilmington. Heading into NE10 play, he is averaging 11.0 ppg. Returning leader Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) is certainly not someone to look past as he is averaging 13 points in the first three games, including a season-high 18 in the second game against Wilmington. Two other highlights have came on the defensive end where Tyler Saint-Furcy (Inwood, N.Y./Lawrence Woodmere Academy) and Jojo Lingisi-Ombongo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Thomas More) finished with five and six steals respectively in the two opening games.
SCOUTING BENTLEY
Early in the season, Bentley is averaging 13.3 points more than their opponents, entering the NE10 opener with a 2-1 record, including a split of games against Colorado School of Mines and Missouri-St. Louis while at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. A returning All-American, senior guard Zach Laput leads the Falcons in the early going with an average of 21 points per game, shooting 50% from the field (22-of-44) and 13-14 at the free throw line. Laput is a double threat as he also leads the team with his 7.3 rebound per game average, while he has also dished out a team-best 12 assists. Overall, he is one of three players to average double figures, joined by senior forward Ivan Misic and senior guard Aaron Latham who are averaging 14.7 and 11.0 points per game, respectively.
SERIES HISTORY vs BENTLEY
·       New Haven and Bentley meet for the 37h time in the history of the two programs.
·       Bentley holds a 24-12 advantage in the previous 36 games, including a series of 9-straight to open up the series which began during the 1971-72 season.
·       In recent memory, New Haven had rattled off five straight wins, including a double OT win just prior to the CoVID shutdown.
·       Last season, New Haven swept the two meetings on the year, the second of which sent the Blue and Gold to Evansville, Ind. as the East Region Champions. The regular season meeting came down to the buzzer as Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) completed a 27-point comeback with a game-winning layup at the buzzer.
NEXT TIME OUT
After spending the first 10 days of the season on the road, the Chargers will finally make their first appearance in West Haven when they next take the court, welcoming the Pace Setters to the Jeffery P. Hazell Athletic Center on Tuesday, November 21. Tip-off in the final game before the Thanksgiving holiday is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip off as the second game of a doubleheader with the women's team. All of the action from Charger Gym can be seen live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10Now.tv.
