Last week, the Chargers hosted the Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) Owls as their senior recognition game opponent. New Haven lost 87-58.
Prior to tip off, New Haven honored seven seniors; Anwaar- Saeed Franis, Syrus Grisby, Tristian Jeffries, Jojo Lingisi-Ombongo, Tarese Morse, Seth Sharif-Brown and Mohamed Traore. The highly anticipated crosstown matchup was also the team’s annual Black Lives Matter game, with special BLM t-shirts worn by players during warm-ups.
The Owls’ dominant offense set the Chargers back and led New Haven to a 16-point deficit going into halftime. The Chargers’ defense could not match the Owls’ prominent scoring, and New Haven was unable to mount a comeback in the second half.
Forward Ethan Simmon led the Chargers with 17 points after shooting 7-for-9 from the field and 3-5 from behind the three-point arc. Guard Jah’Likai King had 15 points and finished the game shooting 6-for-14 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. King also had five assists, two rebounds and a steal. Sharif-Brown scored 12 points and had three rebounds.
Apart from the leading scorers, only four other Chargers were able to put up points against SCSU. Guard Najimi George finished with eight points and shot 3-for-6 from the field and 1-for-3 from behind the arc. George added a rebound and one assist. Jeffries finished the match with three points and a trio of rebounds. Traore had two points from a field shot, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Lingisi- Ombongo secured one free throw shot along with one rebound, assist and steal.
SCSU finished the game shooting 54.1% from the field while the Chargers only shot 40%. New Haven finished 33.3% from the three-point arc while the Owls finished at 43.3%. SCSU committed nine personal fouls which led the Chargers to shoot 5-for-7 from the free-throw line.
In 40 minutes of play, the Chargers had 27 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals and two blocks. New Haven had 14 turnovers and 11 personal fouls. The Owls were able to score 25 points off the Chargers’ turnovers and scored 17 second-chance points. SCSU only gave up seven turnovers which resulted in four points from the Chargers.
After the series loss to SCSU, the Chargers have an overall record of 12-14 and 7-11 in NE10 conference play. New Haven will look to get back into the win column as they travel to Garden City, NY to face the Adelphi University Panthers on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Recreation and Sport. For more information, visit NewHavenChargers.com.
