Last week, teamwork could not save the day, as the Chargers faced off against the Pace University Setters in their home opening game and were defeated, 56-73.

While falling behind the Setters, junior forward Ethan Simmon said that teamwork is crucial to try and fight back for the win.

“Our focus as a team was to stay together and rely on each other while communicating with one another to do our best to make a comeback,” said Simmon.

In the first half, the Setters took an early lead over the Chargers. New Haven was unable to keep up offensively and went into halftime with a 25-point deficit to Pace. In the second half, the Chargers had a late breakthrough but were unable to make a comeback.

Guard Jah’Likai King led the Chargers with 16 points and shot 5-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 at the free throw line. King added five assists, three rebounds and three steals. Simmon had 15 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists. Guard Tristian Jeffries added eight points, two rebounds, an assist and a block.

Behind New Haven’s leading scorers, four other Chargers were able to put points on the scoreboard. Guard Seth Sharif-Brown scored six points and finished the game shooting 3-for-9 from the field. Sharif-Brown also had four rebounds. Guard Javel Cherry had five points and a rebound. Forwards Tarese Morse and Kyle Kearson each scored three points. Morse added three rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. Kearson shot 1-for-1 in both the field and from behind the three-point arc. He also added a rebound and a block.

New Haven finished shooting 40.8% from the field while Pace shot 46.6%. The Setters shot 16.7% from the three-point arc compared to the Chargers shooting 28.6%. After 13 personal fouls from the Setters, the Chargers finished 10-for-13 at the free throw line. New Haven tallied 14 turnovers and 12 personal fouls. The Chargers finished the game with 28 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and three blocks.

Following the conference loss, Simmon said that the Chargers will learn from the loss and hope to secure a conference title.

“We will take this loss as a learning experience and watch the film to correct all our mistakes we made so we can continue to be better as the season goes along,” said Simmon.

After the loss to Pace, New Haven has an overall record of 2-2 and 1-1 in NE10 play. The Chargers will be back on the court at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday as they travel to Worcester, Mass. to face the Assumption University Greyhounds. The conference game will be held at Laska Gymnasium. For more information, please visit NewHavenChargers.com.