WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Led by the 14th double-double of the season for Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech), the University of New Haven men’s basketball team claimed a 70-64 overtime victory on Wednesday against visiting Northeast-10 foe Assumption. The Chargers clinched an NE-10 postseason berth with the win.
Anderson netted a team-high 19 points and led all players with 13 rebounds to compile a double-double. The Chargers (15-7, 12-6 NE-10) also got 18 tallies from Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian), while Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) added 15 points and Jeremy Williams (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) poured in 14.
Off the bench, Mark Palmieri (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) knocked down a three-pointer, and Joshua Guddemi (Nottingham, England/Derby) sank a free throw to round out the scoring.
Adkins and Cyrus James (Manchester, Conn./Howell Cheney Tech) grabbed seven rebounds apiece in addition to Anderson’s 13 boards as the Chargers battled Assumption – the Northeast-10 leader with a +5.1 rebounding margin – to a 42-42 dead heat on the glass.
Kevin Donahue led all players with 21 points for Assumption (16-6, 13-5 NE-10).
The Chargers overcame a 27-22 halftime deficit – their second win of the year when trailing at the intermission – and held a 59-55 lead after a pair of Adkins’ free throws with eight seconds to play in regulation. However, Assumption’s Tim Beniert sank a quick layup and, after the Gryehounds forced a turnover on the inbounds pass, converted a tip-in as time expired to knot the game at 59-59 and cause the extra session.
After two empty trips each way to begin the overtime, the Chargers struck first on two free throws from Williams. The lead grew on an Exum three-pointer and was extended to 66-60 on an Adkins’ layup with 39 seconds to go as the Greyhounds missed their first five field goals and converted only one of their first six free throws of the period. The lead was never within one possession again, and New Haven hit its last four foul shots to ice a 70-64 win.
Anderson and Williams each scored 14 points after halftime, while Exum netted five in overtime and 11 after the intermission in total. Adkins scored four points in the extra session and eight in all following the first 20 minutes.
The Chargers’ win splits the home-and-home series with their NE-10 Southwest Division foe. The Greyhounds took a 57-56 decision in Worcester early this season. In all, the last four meetings between the two clubs have been decided by two points or fewer and/or in overtime.
New Haven completes its two-game homestand on Saturday against Le Moyne. Tip-off from Charger Gymnasium is slated for 3:30 p.m. as a part of the Chargers’ annual Play4Kay event to promote breast cancer awareness.
