GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: January 2, 2024
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LOCATION: Ross Sports Center | Colchester, Vt. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE LEAD
Looking to build on the momentum of three-straight wins and to hand Saint Michael's its first NE10 loss of the season, the New Haven men's basketball team gets the 2024 portion of its schedule underway on Wednesday night when they travel to Colchester, Vt. for the conference battle.
SCOUTING NEW HAVEN
Riding a three-game win streak, the Chargers have outscored their last two opponents by an average of 19.3 points per game. Could head coach Ted Hotaling have found the right recipe of players remains to be determined, however the addition of redshirt guard Ethan Simmon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph Metuchen) coming off the bench has been huge for the Blue and Gold of late, including a career-high 27 points against Georgian Court. Over the current three-game win streak, Simmon is averaging 20 points per game and for the season, Simmon is one of three players to average in double figures with the rookie now averaging 11.1 ppg. Leading the way individually is senior Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) who is averaging 14.9 ppg, while Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) is putting up 12.6 ppg. Thomas, who has scored in double figures in each of the last eight games, has seen more than half of his field goals fall from outside of the three point arc (27 threes, 54 total FG), while Simmon has also been a threat from long range lately, finishing that career-high outing 7-of-10 from outside the arc and is 21-of-40 from long range on the year. Another welcome addition for the Chargers has been junior transfer Jojo Lingisi-Ombongo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Thomas More) who has come off the bench to lead the Chargers with 34 assists.
SCOUTING SAINT MICHAEL'S
Winners in nine of its last 10 games, Saint Michael's enters Wednesday night with an unblemished 5-0 record in Northeast-10 Conference play, however they haven't played a conference opponent since a December 5 win over Saint Rose. The most recent of the two non-conference losses for the Purple Knights came at the hands of the same Staten Island team that New Haven just beat on December 30, as the Purple Knights surrendered 101 points to the Dolphins. For the season, Darrel Yepdo leads four players who are averaging double figures in the scoring column with an average of 17.7 ppg, sixth highest in the NE10. In addition, Yepdo also leads the Purple Knights with 41 assists and 21 steals, is second with 23 three pointers and second with 46 free throws (in 58 attempts, 79.3%).
SERIES HISTORY vs SAINT MICHAEL'S
·        New Haven and Saint Michael's meet for the 28th time in the history of the two programs.
·        With a split of the home-and-home series last season, New Haven now holds a 15-12 lead in the previous 27 meetings.
·        The win in the first game last season snapped a series of four-straight wins for New Haven, who extended beyond that had won nine of the previous 11 heading into the season.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Chargers will close out a three-game road trip with a weekend match up in Worcester, Mass. as the American International Yellow Jackets are next on the docket. Opening tip in the NE10 contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. following the women's game as the second in a double header. All of the action from Butova Gymnasium can be seen live on NE10Now.tv.
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