GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: March 1, 2023 LOCATION: Stan Spirou Field House Manchester, N.H. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

NEWS NEWS ROSTER ROSTER SCHEDULE SCHEDULE STATS STATS GAME NOTES

THE LEAD
The quest for a first NE10 title continues for the New Haven men's basketball team when they head to the Granite State and visit Manchester for a date with the top-seeded Southern New Hampshire Penmen. SNHU picked up a quarterfinal victory in a tightly fought decision over Franklin Pierce to advance to the semifinal round. Tipoff in the championship semifinal is slated for 7:00 p.m. with all of the action available on NE10 NOW.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Heading into its third postseason game, New Haven continues to rely heavily on its starting five who are all averaging more 29+ minutes per game, with three of the five averaging in double figures in the scoring column and the five combined providing 86% of the total scoring (1,644-of-1,912 total points). Leading the team individually is transfer guard Ty Perry (Boston, Mass./Brighton) who has scored 20+ in eight games this season and is averaging 14.7 ppg. Among his eight 20+ performance is a trio of games where he hit his career-high of 24. Graduate guard Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) follows him with four 20+ games on the season, for an average to 14.7 ppg, shooting 53.3 percent (152-285) for the season. In addition, Lane leads the team with 108 assists and 42 steals. Junior Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) rounds out the top three with a 13.1 ppg average, including leading the team from beyond the arc with 72 three pointers. Rounding out the starting five is Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial High School) and Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./) who average 9.6 and 7.1 ppg, respectively. Among the five, Majak leads the team and the NE10 with an impressive 61.8 percent (81-of-131) shooting from the field. Majak is also the NE10's leading rebounder (11.3 per game) and shot blocker with 83 stuffed attempts, which also rank him third and second nationally in rebounding and total blocks, respectively.

SCOUTING THE PENMEN
Winners of their last nine games of the regular season, the Penmen fought their way to the top of the standings, earning the NE10's regular season crown and the top spot in the conference playoffs. The Penman closed out the month of February with a perfect 8-0 record, adding in its NE10 quarterfinal win over Franklin Pierce to advance to the semifinal round. Much like the Chargers, Southern New Hampshire is outscoring its opponents by 5.6 ppg, averaging 70.1 per game, while defensively they are second in the NE10, behind only New Haven, holding opponents to a 64.6 ppg average. Individually, a trio of Penmen lead in the scoring column with Matt Becht putting up a team-best 15.8 ppg, which is fifth highest in the conference. He is followed by Evan Guillory and Ethan Okwuosa with 13.1 and 12.8 ppg, respectively.

SERIES HISTORY vs SNHU

·        New Haven and Southern New Hampshire meet for the 79th time in the history of the two programs.

·        SNHU holds a 51-27 advantage in the previous 78 games, including a series of 23-straight wins during the 90's decade.

·        New Haven opened up the series with back-to-back victories before SNHU went on a five-game win streak to take control of the early years. 

·        In recent memory, New Haven has won four of the last six meetings, including a 70-48 decision last year.

NE10 TOURNAMENT HISTORY
New Haven makes its 10th appearance in the NE10 Championship since joining the league for the 2008-09 season. This season also represents the sixth straight appearance for the Blue and Gold. Overall, the Chargers hold a 3-0 record in the semifinal round of the Championship, advancing to the title game all three times (2014, 2019 and 2020). Overall, New Haven and Southern New Hampshire have met just once in postseason play, that coming in the quarterfinal rund in 2013 with the Penmen earning a 79-75 overtime victory in West Haven.

EARLIER THIS SEASON VS THE PENMEN
Traveling to Manchester, N.H. for the second-straight game, the Chargers dropped an 80-52 decision to SNHU, the second loss in conference play for UNH. A pair of Chargers led the way in the scoring column, with senior Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./) closing out the night with a double double, netting 11 points and pulling down 12 boards. The center's 11 points came on another quality performance from the field, as he extended his conference-leading field goal percentage, shooting 5-of-6 from the field. Rounding out the leading scorers was transfer Ty Perry (Boston, Mass./Brighton) who finished with a team-high 12 points. Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial High School) followed with nine points as all but 11 of the Chargers 52 points came from its starting five. As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 31 percent from the field, connecting on 18-of-58 field goal attempts, with four coming from outside the three-point arc. The Chargers also added 12 points at the free throw line, those coming on 18 attempts.

MAKE ROOM ON THE SHELVES
Following a regular season that left New Haven in the hunt for a Northeast-10 Conference Championship, a trio of New Haven men's basketball players picked up the first postseason honors of the season, highlighted by senior center Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./) who was a repeat selection as the Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year.  In addition to his major award, Majak was also one of six players named to the All-Defensive team, while he was joined in All-Conference accolades by graduate guard Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) and senior transfer Ty Perry (Boston, Mass./Brighton) who earned First Team and Third Team distinction, respectively.

NEXT TIME OUT
The winner of this afternoons NE10 semifinal will advance to the NE10 Championship game where they will take on the winner of the other semifinal featuring No. seed Saint Anselm and No. 3 seed Bentley. The highest remaining seed in that game will also earn hosting rights. The 2023 NE10 Championship is scheduled for Saturday, March 4. All of the postseason playoff action be available live on NE10 NOW.