GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: January 24, 2024
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LOCATION: Goldstein Center | Pleasantville, N.Y. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE LEAD
Starting Wednesday every team that the Chargers will see in the remainder of the regular season they have seen already once this season as the Chargers begin their second trip through the Northeast-10 Conference schedule at Pace this evening. There's still work to be done for the Blue and Gold as they look to jump up the NE10 standings to host an opening round game in the conference championship which will begin in early March.
SCOUTING NEW HAVEN
New Haven looks to build on a come-from-behind win last time out against the Saint Rose Golden Knights when they head back on the road this evening to face the Pace Setters. The Chargers will need to rely on the leadership of Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) who was impressive int he second half against Saint Rose, scoring 22 of his 25 points to lead the Chargers to victory. With that season-high in the scoring column, he now leads the Chargers on the year with an average of 14.9 ppg and is the biggest threat from outside the arc with 40 of his 84 total field goals form long range. Additionally, New Haven will need to rely on its youth which they have for much of the season with two of the top three scorers in their first season of eligibility. Leading that duo is true freshman Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) is second on the team averaging 14.2 ppg. The rookie guard is also leads the team with 41 assists and 30 steals and has scored 20+ five times this season. The other rookie that has made an impact this season is redshirt sophomore Ethan Simmon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph Metuchen) who is third on the team averaging 11.7 ppg, while he is third overall in rebounding at 4.0 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING PACE
At the midway point of the NE10 schedule, the Setters are currently tied for third place in the league standings with their 7-4 NE10 record with the top four teams earning a bye to the quarterfinal round following the regular season. With that record, the Setters are still in the mix to move up to the pinnacle of the league standings, currently just two games back in the win column. However, the Setters dropped their last two games as they wrapped up the first half of the league schedule with losses at Saint Anselm and against Bentley at home. Prior to that Pace had won four-straight as it opened up the 2024 calendar year 4-0. For the season, the Setters are averaging 4.8 points more than their opponents, putting up an average of 71 points per game which despite their record is 10th in the NE10 among 12 total teams. Individually, Bryan Powell leads the Setters with an average of 15.2 ppg, one of three players to average double figures. Also among the highlights is Tray Alexander, who in addition to averaging 11.5 ppg, has amassed 127 assists on the year and leads the entirety of NCAA D2 with an average of 7.4.
SERIES HISTORY vs PACE
·        New Haven and Pace meet for the 37th time in the history of the two programs.
·        New Haven holds a 21-15 advantage in the previous 33 games, including a series of 13-of-15 that stretched the 2010's
·        Last season, the Chargers took two against the Setters, a regular season match-up in West Haven and a first-ever meeting in the NCAA Regionals, that coming in the semifinal round.
·        Prior to the two wins last season, Pace averaged 26.5 points more than the Chargers in sweeping the series in 2021-22, making it four-straight against UNH.
NEXT TIME OUT
The road trip wont be long for the Chargers as following Wednesday night's game they will return right back to the Hazell Athletic Center for back-to-back home games for the first time in 2024 when they host Bentley and Assumption. First up on that docket will be a visit from the Falcons on Saturday, January 27 with tip off in the NE10 contest scheduled for 3:30
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