WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Behind a pair of Chargers in double figures, the New Haven men's basketball team picked up a 74-68 home win over the visiting American International Yellow Jackets on Saturday afternoon. With the win, New Haven improves to 9-16 overall and 6-of-13 in the Northeast-10.
The only deficit the Chargers faces was a shallow two-point hole that they quickly recovered from to switch the scoreboard in their favor as they held the lead for nearly 37 minutes of the game and led by as much as 16 points late in the first half.
Leading all scorers in the game was senior guard Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) who finished with a season-high 26 points with the majority of those coming at the free throw line where he was 11-of-13 overall. From the field, Thomas finished 6-of-13 on the afternoon with half of those six field goals coming from outside the three-point arc. The 26 points for Thomas was his fourth game with 20 or more and he has now scored in double figures in all but two if the Chargers 25 total games.
Joining him over the 20+ mark was redshirt freshman Ethan Simmon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph Metuchen) who finished with 21 points for his fifth game surpassing 20 points. Simmon finished the afternoon shooting 7-of-13 from the field with a pair of three pointers, while he was also 5-of-7 at the free throw line.
Rounding out the leading scorers for New Haven was freshman Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) who chipped in a dozen, while senior Sean Braithwaite (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches) added seven and sophomore Josh Hopson finished with six. Hopson also led New Haven with 16 rebounds as the Chargers won the battle of the boards by a 34-29 margin.
As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 45.8 percent from the field, narrowly outshooting the Yellow Jackets. Overall, New Haven connected on 22-of-48 field goal attempts with eight of those coming from long range. In addition, the Chargers connected on 22-of-30 attempt at the free throw line. The Blue and Gold also combined for 14 assists on the 22 baskets, led by King with four.
The Chargers will spend the 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.
