This week, the New Haven men’s basketball team played host in two matchups, the first against Assumption College and second against Bloomfield College.

Assumption Recap

In front of a packed house last Tuesday, the New Haven men’s basketball team came away with a last-second win against the Assumption Greyhounds, holding on to a 74-73 win. Riding a dominant first half offensive performance, New Haven was able to survive the Greyhounds’ late comeback for their second consecutive win. The Chargers are now 5-2 on the season as they enter their last final stretch of games before winter break.

New Haven started the game firing on offense, scoring nine of the game’s first 11 points. Forward Davontrey Thomas got the scoring started with the first of his two three-pointers, following a knock- down jumper by guard Quashawn Lane to give the Chargers an early lead.

After a missed three-pointer by Assumption, New Haven would get the ball back and add to their lead with a layup by guard Kendall McMillan. Another missed three by Assumption gave McMillan another chance for a layup which he would make, forcing the Grey- hounds to take a timeout.

Following the timeout, Assumption was able to respond with a three by Kani Glover and a layup from Isiah Gaiter to cut the deficit down to six with over 12 minutes to play in the half.

New Haven quickly put an end to the rally with a three by guard Victor Olawoye with an assist from forward Sean Braithwaite. After a foul by Braithwaite, New Haven brought some fresh legs into the game, with guard Justin Hendrick entering the game for the first time, and starters Ty Perry and Quashawn Lane back in the game. Perry got the Chargers back on the board with a jumper and freshman forward Joshua Hopson added on with a score of his own.

Assumption kept themselves in the game with a three by Rapolas Buivydas, but they were unable to catch up to New Haven’s high-fly- ing offense. A layup from Olawoye and a three by Lane, who finished with a team-high of 19 points, built their lead up to double digits with seven minutes left in the half. Perry and Lane played a big role at the end of the first half, scoring the team’s next 10 points to keep their lead intact.

The closing minutes of the first half was a back-and-forth scoring affair, as Assumption nailed three three-pointers to bring themselves closer, but Thomas was able to give them a comfortable 46-37 lead, closing out the half with his second three.

The teams exchanged scores in the opening minutes of the second half as the Chargers built their lead up to 11. New Haven broke out a big play following a block and rebound by center Majur Majak, opening up the court for a fast- break layup by Olawoye to stretch the lead to 13, forcing Assumption to take a 30-second timeout.

Neither team would score another basket for the next three minutes, but McMillan put an end to the scoreless run with a layup in transition after a missed three by Assumption. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Grey- hounds looked to get themselves back in the game with a three by Cooper Creek, but then Perry sent the entire gym into a frenzy with a posterizing dunk to put the Chargers ahead by 16.

Assumption started their comeback with a dominant run by Gaiter and Njavan Stewart, scoring the team’s next 12 points to make it a nine-point game. After Assumption had a timeout, Majak responded with a posterizing dunk of his own to bring New Haven’s lead up to 12.

This did not last long, however, with the Greyhounds firing off eight unanswered points to cut the deficit to four, capped off by a jumper from Kyle Hicks. After New Haven had a timeout, Assumption got back to work to take the lead in the final two minutes. Creek drilled a three with 1:13 minutes remaining to make it a four-point game again, and after a missed free throw from Olawoye, Njavan Stewart hit a huge three to bring the Greyhounds within one with nine seconds left to play.

After a missed free throw from Thomas, the Greyhounds got the ball back with one last hope to win the game in the closing seconds. Stewart got off a three but could not sink it, giving New Haven a nail-biting win against a strong conference opponent.

Bloomfield Recap

The New Haven men’s basketball team won their fourth consecutive game on Thursday night, battling it out with a tough Bloomfield team and coming with a 74-66 win. Both teams struggled on offense in the first half, setting up a tight back-and-forth second in a well-played all-around game. The Chargers’ win brought them to 6-2 in their last home game before heading into winter break.

Perry started the scoring for New Haven with a jumper, finishing with a team-high 20 points. Bloomfield answered with a three from Josh Morris to put them ahead, but their lead quickly disappeared when Lane sank a jumper to put the Chargers ahead by one.

Both teams struggled in tran- sition, and Bloomfield took the lead back after a layup by Al Fatir Conner set up by a big block by Edward Ngene. After a layup by Perry to make it a one-point game, the offenses continued to struggle and could not sink a shot. The defenses were in full control up to this point in the game, with New Haven holding an 8-7 lead with seven minutes off the game clock.

A steal by Majak set up his dunk to score his first of 10 points in the game. New Haven’s high-powered offense could not operate like they have all season, faced with full- court coverage from Bloomfield all game, forcing them to make uncomfortable passes under heavy pressure.

After a missed jumper from Braithwaite, Bloomfield broke out and cut into the deficit with a layup by Andres Fulgencio. Halfway through the first half, it was still a low-scoring affair, but forward Joshua Hopson got himself on the scorecard with a layup to go ahead by three. Perry added to the lead with his first of four three-pointers, which was also a team-high.

After a timeout taken by New Haven, Fulgencio sank another jumper to make it a two-point game with just over six minutes to play in the half. He continued to haunt the Chargers’ defense with a three to tie the game at 16. Wesley Robinson sank a jumper to put the Bears up by two, but their lead was quickly erased with Majak’s jump- er to even the contest again.

Perry added to his strong statline with a dunk and two more threes to keep New Haven in the game, but Bloomfield stuck around with threes from Fulgencio and Tyrek Battle-Holley. The Chargers rattled off six straight points in the final minute of the half to give them a 33-24 lead, their largest lead of the game.

The offenses came alive for both teams in the second half, starting off with another three from Perry and a pair of Bloomfield three-pointers. The Bears contin- ued to put pressure on the Chargers with a good jumper by Conner and another three by Morris, who finished the game with a team-high four three-pointers made.

Forward Davontrey Thomas fol- lowed them with his second three of the game to put New Haven ahead by five. The lead was then cut to two after another three by Morris, but Olawoye built the lead back up to five after a layup and a free throw after a foul by Conner.

The Bears would go on a sev- en-point run to tie the game back up at 49 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, forcing the Chargers to take a 30-second timeout. The teams would continue to go back and forth, once again tying the game at 53. Wesley Robinson put Bloomfield ahead once again with a jumper, followed by a 30-second timeout by the team.

After the timeout, Olawoye knocked down a three to give New Haven a one-point lead, which they would hold for the rest of the game. Lane added on with a three of his own and then tacked on two free throws to make it a six-point game. Majak electrified the crowd with a dunk to further separate themselves from the Bears who refused to go down without a fight.

With 33 seconds remaining, Robinson drilled another three to cut the New Haven lead to just three, but that would be the team’s final score of the night. Olawoye and Thomas gave the Chargers a cushion in the closing seconds, and after a steal by Olawoye, he ended the game with a huge dunk to seal the 74-66 win for the Chargers.

New Haven will now head on the road for their final game before the winter break to take on Chestnut Hill in a non-conference matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. as the Chargers will look to win their fifth straight. More information can be found at NewHavenChargers.com.