SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds to go along with 17 points and led the University of New Haven men’s basketball team to a 60-50 victory over American International in Springfield Wednesday night. The sophomore recorded his NCAA Division II second-best 15th double-double of the season and added three assists, one steal and one block in the win.

New Haven took sole possession of fourth place in the Northeast-10 Conference and improved to 17-7 overall (14-6 NE-10) with the win. The Yellow Jackets dropped to 9-15 overall and 6-14 in conference play with the loss.

Anderson’s 20-plus rebound performance was the first for a Charger since John Sullivan recorded 21 at AIC on Jan. 2, 2006. Jeremy Williams (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) added 16 points and Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) netted 11 points.

AIC jumped out to a 14-5 lead just over five minutes into the first half, including a three-pointer by Spencer Braithwaite at the 14:56 mark. Ashanti DePass (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) helped UNH get back in the game with five straight points four minutes later. He connected from three-point territory with 11:33 left in the half and made a jumper at the 10:51 mark to cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to just one point, 16-15. The teams exchanged baskets and Jeremy Williams (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) put in a layup two minutes later to bring the score to 20-17 in favor of AIC. The Yellow Jackets went on an 8-0 run to take a commanding lead with over five minutes left in the first half. AIC led by as many as 11 points in the final minutes and Williams made the final basket of the half, cutting the Yellow Jackets’ lead to seven at the break, 31-24.

The Yellow Jackets maintained a significant lead in the first two minutes of the second half, taking a 35-26 lead with 18:01 on the clock. Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) hit a jumper in the paint 16 seconds later and sparked a Chargers rally. UNH went on an 11-4 run to even the score at 39-39 five minutes later. Anderson and Adkins combined for all 11 of New Haven’s point in the run, including the game-tying trey by Adkins at the 12:54 mark. The Chargers and Yellow Jackets then exchanged the lead once before UNH would take it for good. Williams connected from way outside the three-point arc to propel UNH to a 44-42 lead with 10:40 left. Staying tough on the defensive end led UNH to a 10 point lead, 54-44, with 5:42 left. The Chargers continued to lead in the final minutes, connecting on a pair of free throws in the final minute to seal the double digit victory.

UNH shot 42 percent from the floor and held AIC to 33.3 percent from the field. Another difference in this game came at the line with the Chargers holding an 11-7 lead in free throw points. New Haven’s defense held the Yellow Jackets to just 19 second-half points, while New Haven also led 41-31 in rebounds.

New Haven, recently ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II East Region Rankings, travels to fourth ranked Southern Connecticut State on Saturday, Feb. 23 for another NE-10 battle. The men tip-off at 3:30 p.m. at Moore Field House.