GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: January 27, 2024
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LOCATION: Hazell Athletic Center | West Haven, Conn. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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THE LEAD
Looking to rebound from a loss at the buzzer Wednesday night at Pace, the New Haven men's basketball team begins a stretch of two-straight home games with a visit from the Bentley Falcons on Saturday afternoon.
SCOUTING NEW HAVEN
The Chargers continue to rely on the leadership of Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) who was impressive in the second half against Saint Rose two games ago, 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 14.5 ppg and is the biggest threat from outside the arc with 41 of his 87 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 14.1 ppg. The rookie guard is also leads the team with 48 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 3.9 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING BENTLEY
Despite a loss in its last game at AIC, the Falcons have been on a bit of a roll having won six of its last eight for a 7-5 record in the NE10 which pits them in a two-way tie for fourth place in the league standings with 10 games remaining in the regular season. For the year, Bentley leads all NE10 teams with its 79.7 points per game average while on the flip side of that the 69.1 ppg they are allowing is second best in the league, all leading to outscoring their opponents by an average of 10.6 ppg. Additionally, the Falcons are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 5.8 rebounds per game. Individually, Bentley is led by Zach Laput who leads the entire NE10 with an average of 20.8 ppg, shooting 47.7 percent from the field which includes 46 three pointers and adds an 80-of-89 effort at the free throw line. Additionally, he is second on the team with 6.7 rebounds per game and leads the team with 82 assists. Overall, he is one of four players to average double figures, followed by Cash McClure (13.2 ppg), Kellan Bochenek (12.8 ppg) and Aaron Latham (11.6 ppg).
SERIES HISTORY vs BENTLEY
·        New Haven and Bentley meet for the 38th time in the history of the two programs.
·        Bentley holds a 25-12 advantage in the previous 37 games, including a series of nine-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
The back-to-back home games that close out the month of January for the Chargers will come to a close on Tuesday night when they welcome the Assumption Greyhounds to the Jeffery P. Hazell Athletic Center. Opening tip in the NE10 contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., following the women's game. All of the action will be available live on the Chargers Sports Network on NE10Now.tv
