NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Sophomore guard Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) led the New Haven men's basketball team with 20 points as the Blue and Gold dropped an 86-72 decision on the road against crosstown rival Southern Connecticut. With the loss, New Haven falls to 7-9 on the season and 3-6 in the Northeast-10 Conference.
King's team-high 20 points came on 7-of-11 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Overall, King was one of three Chargers in double figures with Seth Sharif-Brown (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) and Najimi George (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) following with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 47.4 percent, connecting on 27-of-57 field goal attempts. Among the 27 were seven from outside the three point arc, while they also finished 11-of-15 at the free throw line. The Owls also closed out the game with a 43-24 in the battle of the boards with Ethan Simmon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph Metuchen) leading the team with six.
FIRST HALF NOTES
· After nearly 90 seconds of scoreless action, Tarese Morse (Springfield, Mass./Springfield) was the first to christen the hoop on the night as he banked a jumper off the glass. Credit Morse for the Chargers first five points of the night as nearly two minutes later he drilled a three pointer for an early 5-2 lead.
· The Owls responded by scoring 10 unanswered points to flip the score in their favor and build an eventual 17-6 lead forcing the Chargers to call a timeout.
· New Haven came out of that break with Ugo Nwachukwu (Imo State, Nigeria/Springfield Commonwealth Academy) converting on a fadeaway to break up what was a 15-1 run for the Owls.
· Southern's momentum didn't fade away as they were hitting from outside the arc at a 60% clip and opened up a 19 point lead before the Chargers looked for an answer and it came in the form of a shot clock beating three from Jojo Lingisi-Ombongo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Thomas More) off the bench.
· That three sparked series of three straight possessions the Chargers would convert field goals leading to a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to 32-20, however the Owls answered with yet another three pointer to push their lead back to 15.
· Southern closed out the half on a 9-2 run to take a 19 point lead into the intermission.
· The Chargers spread its scoring across eight different players with the early five points from Morse leading the way.
SECOND HALF NOTES
· The Chargers looked to mount a comeback right out of the gates and it began with Simmon who drilled a three pointer on the opening possession, just 14 seconds into the action.
· Simmon added another from long range and George followed with a driving layup to cut the Owls lead to 13 and force a Southern timeout.
· The short break was exactly what the Owls needed as they would use that stoppage in play to spark an 18-2 rally and open up a 61-32 lead with a second change putback from King looking to halt that momentum.
· Southern wouldn't be deterred continuing its dominance from the field, extending its lead from outside the arc with a 7-of-10 effort in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
· Following a Southern layup that extended the Owls lead to 28, George sparked another New Haven rally that spanned a three minute stretch and equaled a 13-4 advantage for the Blue and Gold, cutting the deficit to 19 at 84-65.
· The Chargers extended that rally over the final three minutes, closing out the game on a 20-6 run with the final points of the night coming off the fingertips of Seth Sharif-Brown (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) from outside the three point arc.
UP NEXT
The New Haven men's basketball returns to the court this coming Saturday when they return home to the Jeffery P. Hazell Athletics Center to host the Saint Michael's Purple Knights on Saturday, January 18. Opening tip in the Northeast-10 Conference battle is set for 3:30 p.m., following the women's game, with all of the action available live on NE10 Now on Flo College.
