Coming off an emotional win against Long Island University on senior day, the Chargers looked to continue their streak against two NEC rivals, the Stonehill University Skyhawks and the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Knights.
For the Chargers’ first game of the week, they hosted Stonehill in front of a packed crowd. The back-and-forth game started out fast-paced, with both teams going score for score. The Chargers eventually found some separation and took control of the first half with the help of Jabri Fitzpatrick, who put on a scoring clinic to help the Chargers secure a 32-30 lead.
Starting the second half of the contest, both teams picked up right where they left off, finding scores from the perimeter as well as inside the paint. The Chargers began to pull away midway through the half, building a 48-37 lead, but Stonehill would not back down easily. Continuing to go shot for shot, the Chargers’ defense dominated, and helped the team secure a 64-51 win over NEC rival Stonehill. The game highlighted an amazing performance by Fitzpatrick, who scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The Chargers’ defense held Stonehill to just 35% shooting from the floor and 28% from the three point-arc.
When asked about the matchup, Chargers coach Ted Hotaling said that it was a physical game featuring two of the league’s top defensive teams.
“They’re really, really elite on the defensive end,” said Hotaling. “Our biggest concern going in was how are we going to score?”
Hotaling said the defensive coverage was different than expected.
“They usually slide under a lot of ball screens. Tonight, they went over a lot,” he said, noting his team adjusted after an early drought. “We were much more consistent in the second half, especially getting downhill and scoring. And obviously we made layups, right? That’s the big thing.”
Hotaling was mostly pleased with his team’s defensive efforts. “Other than a few blown coverages, I thought we were really locked in and assigned correctly.”
Two days later, the Chargers traveled to the Bogota Savings Bank Center in Hackensack to face NEC rival Fairleigh Dickinson. Through the first half, the Chargers came out with efficient shooting and scored from all three levels, building an early 55–39 lead over FDU. While taking the early advantage over the Knights, the Chargers shot 70 percent from both the field and the three-point arc. FDU slowly crawled back into the game but could not complete the comeback, which resulted in an 84–77 win for New Haven. Fitzpatrick put on another scoring clinic, pouring in 32 points, while Kheni Briggs added 18 and Andre Pasha chipped in 16 to round out the scoring effort.
After the two wins, the Chargers improved to 13-15 overall and 8-7 in NEC play. With the season coming to a close, New Haven has two games remaining. The Chargers will travel to Staten Island, N.Y. on Thursday to face the Wagner College Seahawks and then host the Le Moyne College Dolphins for their final game of the season on Saturday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. on Thursday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. For more information about the men’s basketball team, visit NewHavenChargers.com.
