The New Haven men’s basketball team concluded the 2023-24 regular season with a close match up against the Franklin Pierce Ravens that resulted in a 73-68 overtime victory on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The Chargers were coming off a two-game losing streak against the College of Saint Rose and Saint Anselm College last week.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team gaining a significant lead before halftime. New Haven trailed only by one point going into the second half, with a score of 32-31. The second half remained similar to the first, with neither team able to extend their lead. At the end of the second half, the game was tied at 61.
The Chargers went into overtime looking to take the win in their last regular season game. With the home court advantage, New Haven took charge and put up six points during overtime before Franklin Pierce was able to score. The momentum stayed in favor of the Chargers late in the overtime period when forward Sean Braithwaite beat the shot clock with a three-pointer that put New Haven ahead by six with two minutes remaining. After they held the lead for the remainder of the overtime, the Chargers prevailed over the Ravens, 73-68.
Freshman guard Jah’Likai King led the offense for New Haven with a team-high 25 points. Tuesday’s game was King’s eighth game with at least 25 points this season and his 11th game in a row scoring double digits. King finished the night shooting 10-of-23 from the field and added a pair of three-pointers.
Behind King were guards Tyler Saint-Furcy and Davontrey Thomas, putting up 18 and 17 points, respectively. Two other Chargers put points on the board, with seven from forward Joshua Hopson and six from Braithwaite.
Overall, New Haven finished the night shooting 41% from the field, connecting on 25-of-61 from the field. Seven of those came from behind the three-point arc. Hopson led New Haven on the boards with 12 rebounds, followed by Saint-Furcy with seven and Thomas with six.
With the win, New Haven closed out the regular season with a 10-18 overall record and a 7-15 record in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Chargers have earned 10th place in the conference and will travel to Manchester, N.H. for the first round of the NE10 Championships, as they will face off against the Saint Anselm Hawks. New Haven will look to get revenge against the Hawks after their 65-54 loss in last year’s NE-10 championship game. Tip-off at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium is set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 1. For more information visit NewHavenChargers.com.