WEST HAVEN -The University of New Haven men’s basketball team defeated the visiting St. Michael’s College Purple Knights 62-52 Sunday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium. The Chargers get their first victory of the season and improve to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Purple Knights fall to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the NE-10.
The Chargers used heavy pressure to open the game, and it paid off as they jumped out to a 17-4 lead halfway through the opening stanza. St. Michael’s closed the gap to nine with four minutes left in the half, but New Haven got a pair of three-pointers from Antwan Hayes and Darryl Greene down the stretch to make it 28-14 at halftime.
New Haven was able to capitalize with 14 points off of nine St. Michael’s turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Greene came off the bench to lead New Haven with eight first half points, including going 2-for-2 from three-point range. Kelvin Jackson had six points, including a pair of thunderous dunks, and five rebounds to go along with a block and a steal.
The Chargers extended their lead to 41-21 on a three-pointer by D.J. Sackmann, but St. Michael’s made the game interesting as they went on an 11-0 run midway through the second half to pull within six at 46-40. New Haven increased its lead to 53-44 on a jumper by Jackson, but a three-point play by St. Michael’s once again cut the lead to six with just over two minutes left to play.
The Chargers put the game away at the free throw line where Greene went seven-for-seven down the stretch.
New Haven shot 43.8 percent from the field, including 54.5 percent from three-point range and held St. Michael’s to 36.0 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range. The Chargers bench out-scored the St. Michael’s bench 21-10.
Greene led the Chargers with 16 points, including 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Junior Cassius Chaney added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Jackson put in 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
The Chargers return to action on Wednesday, December 3 when they travel to take on cross-town rival Southern Connecticut State University. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
