GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: February 17, 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
The penultimate home game, as the regular season winds down the Chargers welcome the American International Yellow Jackets to West Haven as they go for a season-sweep of the NE10 foe. Prior to the action, New Haven will honor three members of the program who will complete their eligibility at the conclusion of the season; Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie), Sean Braithwaite (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches) and Tyler Saint-Furcy (Inwood, N.Y./Lawrence Woodmere Academy).
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, scoring 22 of his 25 points to lead the Chargers to victory. With that season-high in the scoring column, he now averages 14.8 ppg and is the biggest threat from outside the arc with 54 of his 124 total field goals from 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) who added his second 30+ performance at home against Bentley and now leads the team averaging 16.1 ppg. The rookie guard also leads the team with 65 assists and 31 steals and has scored 20+ eight 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 10.5 ppg, while he is third overall in rebounding at 3.8 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING AMERICAN INT'L
As the regular season comes down to its final weeks, the Yellow Jackets could make a last minute surge up the standings if they were to win out the regular season. Currently with a 7-11 record in NE10 play, the Yellow Jackets are two games ahead of New Haven in the standings but remain in the bottom four spots which would mean a road game in the opening round of the NE10 Championship. For the season, the Yellow Jackets are scoring an average of 71.6 points per game and are allowing just under four points more to their opponents (75.2 ppg). Additionally, they are being outrebounded by 3.5 rebounds per game as a team. Individually, Justice Ellison pulls much of the weight for the Yellow Jackets, averaging 20.8 points per game, which leads all NE10 scorers. Additionally, he leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per game and 28 steals while his 47 assists are second most on the team. Ellison is a threat from anywhere on the court with a quarter of his 188 field goals coming from outside the arc, but also finds his way to the free throw line where he is 77-of-97 on the year.
SERIES HISTORY vs AIC
·       New Haven and American International meet for the 66th time in the history of the two programs.
·       One of the most evenly contested series for the Chargers, New Haven holds a slight 35-30 advantage in the previous 65 games.
·       Last season, New Haven swept three meetings against the Yellow Jackets, the third coming in the opening round of the Northeast-10 Championship as the Blue and Gold made their run towards an East Region Championship.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Chargers will spend its next two games away from their West Haven campus with trips to New Hampshire and New York on the docket. First up will be the second trip of the month to Manchester, N.H., this time to take on the Saint Anselm Hawks on Wednesday, February 21 at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. Tip off in the NE10 battle is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with all of the action available live on NE10Now.tv.
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