PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The University of New Haven men’s basketball team, seeded 10th in the Northeast-10 Conference

Championship tournament, deaeated seventh-seed Pace University, 51-49 Friday night at Goldstein Health, Fitness & Recreation Center. With the win, the Chargers advance to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship quarterfinals at second-seed Adelphi University on Sunday. The Chargers improved to 15-12 overall, while the Setters season concluded with a 13-14 record.

After taking the opening tip-off, Jeremy Williams (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) scored the first points of the game with a jumper. Three minutes later, Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) gave the Chargers an early 8-2 lead off a three-point shot. The Chargers held on to the slim lead throughout the first half. The Chargers led by as many as seven points after a Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) layup at the 14:46 mark. Pace came as close as one point at the 12:02 mark, but New Haven held on for a narrow 25-23 halftime lead. The Setters scored the final three points of the half to trim the lead to one basket.

The second half was hotly contested throughout the 20 minutes. Pace immediately tied the game at 25-25 with the opening basket of the second half. Over the first 3:30, UNH went on a 7-2 run and opened a five-point, 32-27, lead with 16:27 left. The game then started to go back-and-forth as the Setters answered with a 7-0 run to gain their first lead of the second half with 15:21 left, 34-32. The teams then began an exchange of the lead, nine different times in the final 15 minutes. At the 11:39 mark, Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) connected on a three-pointer to give the Chargers a 39-38 lead, but Pace answered right back with a jumper on its next possession. Six minutes later, Exum hit another trifecta to help UNH to a 5-0 run and a 47-44 lead, but Pace again battled back with five unanswered points to take the lead with 3:56 on the clock. After a missed three-pointer and a Pace turnover, Adkins evened the scored at 49-49 with a layup in transition off an Exum steal. The Chargers played tough defense over the final 2:45 and forced four missed shots or turnovers. On New Haven’s second to last possession, Barek put back a missed layup by Adkins and gave the Chargers a two-point lead with 1:02 on the clock. In the final minute, neither team scored and New Haven sealed its first postseason win since the 2003-04 season.

The Chargers shot 45-percent from the field and 57-percent from the free throw line. Pace connected on 36-percent from the floor and 77-percent from the line. The Chargers held a 35-32 advantage on the boards, but lost the turnover battle 10-7.

Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) led the Chargers with 11 points and nine rebounds. Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) added 11 points, four rebounds and two assists, while Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) contributed 10 points, seven boards and two steals.

New Haven will travel to Adelphi on Sunday for a 1 p.m. tip-off in the quarterfinal game. For complete coverage, stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com.