COLCHESTER, Vt. – With his third 25+ performance of the year, freshman Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) led the New Haven men's basketball team as its three-game win streak came to an end with a 78-73 decision on the road at Saint Michael's on Wednesday night. With the loss, New Haven fall to 4-8 on the year and 1-5 in Northeast-10 Conference play.
King's 25 points on the night led all scorers in the game as he finished 10-of-21 from the field and was 5-of-6 at the free throw line. Overall, King was one of four Chargers to finish in double figures followed by transfer guard Tyler Saint-Furcy (Inwood, N.Y./Lawrence Woodmere Academy) who contributed 18 points while senior Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) and redshirt freshman Ethan Simmon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph Metuchen) each finished with 11.
Of the four leading scorers, Saint-Furcy led the way from the field as he finished 7-of-11 overall, including converting his lone attempt from outside the three point arc, while also going 3-of-6 at the free throw line. The 11 points for Thomas extends his team-leading double figure scoring streak which now stands at nine straight games while he has finished in double figures in all but one of the 12 games on the season.
Another milestone on the night came from sophomore big man Joshua Hopson (Jersey City, N.J./MacDuffie School) who pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds, his first ever game in double figures in the rebounding column. The 19 boards from Hopson is the most by a Chargers since New Year's Eve last year when Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./) pulled down 19 boards against Le Moyne. Overall, the Blue and Gold trailed in the battle of the boards by a 44-42 margin.
As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 40.9 percent from the field, connecting on 27-of-66 total field goal attempts with just five of those buckets coming from outside the three point arc. The Chargers also finished 14-of-20 at the free throw line.
In addition to leading the way in the rebounding column, Hopson also led New Haven with four assists as the Chargers wrapped up the night with 17 on its 27 total field goals. Saint-Furcy also led the way for New Haven with five steals, the second time this season, and third of his career, he has finished with five takeaways.
The Chargers return to action on Saturday, January 6 as they conclude a three-game road trip when they travel to the Bay State to take on the American International Yellow Jackets. Opening tip off in the NE10 contest from Butova Gymnasium is slated for 3:30 p.m. with all of the action available live on NE10Now.tv.
