WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Senior guard Jeremy Williams (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) scored 22 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line, to lead the University of New Haven men’s basketball team to a 72-67 victory over the visting Southern Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon. The Chargers, winners of two-straight, improved to 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the Northeast-10 Conference with the win. The Owls dropped to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
Williams and Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) paced the Chargers down the stretch as the team went 14-of-16 in the last two minutes of play. Williams connected on 4-of-4 free throws, while Adkins chipped in with 6-of-6 to lead UNH in the final two minutes to a victory.
The Chargers opened the game a little sluggish, with SCSU jumping out to the early lead at Charger Gymnasium. Trevon Hamlett put in a layup just over eight minutes into the first half to give the Owls a 14-10 lead. After exchanging baskets with the Owls, The Chargers were sparked by a pair of free throws by Adkins at the 8:21 mark. On their next trip down the court, Williams hit a shot from long-range to give UNH their first lead, 17-16, since 2-0. The Owls answered with their own three-pointer, regaining the lead, 19-17. The Chargers then went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead once again in the closing minutes of the first half, capped by a traditional three-point play from Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian). New Haven held on to the lead, but a 7-0 run to close the half led the Owls to a four point, 35-31, halftime lead.
Southern Connecticut hit the first basket of the second half before Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) stopped a 9-0 run by the Owls. SCSU improved its lead to as many as six point in the first three minutes of the second half, but the Chargers quickly responded and tied the game at 42-42. The scoring spree was part of a 12-3 run which gave the Chargers a 45-42 lead at the 12:58 mark. Williams concluded the run with a trey to score his 11th point of the afternoon. The Owls took the lead one more time, with just over 10 minutes left in the second half. After six unanswered points, the Chargers led 51-46 with 8:47 remaining. New Haven maintained at least a three point lead over the next four minutes before Williams hit a three-pointer and ignited a 7-0 run during a 2:56 stretch, pushing the Chargers lead to 10 points, 60-50, with 1:33 left. The Chargers connected from the foul line in the closing minute and secured a five-point, 72-67, victory.
Williams finished with 22 ponits on 5-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-9 from three-point range. Adkins chipped in with 15 points, while Exum added 14. Anderson recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
As a team, New Haven shot 39.6 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from long range. The key to the game including an 85.2 clip from the charity stripe, beating the Owls by 14 points at the free throw line.
New Haven returns to action in its second to last game of the 2012 portion of their 12-13 schedule on Wednesday, Dec. 19 against Concordia (N.Y.) in a non-conference battle at Charger Gymnasium. The game will be live on www.NewHavenChargers.com/LiveVideo starting at 7 p.m. The final game of 2012 will take place at Molloy on Saturday, Dec. 29.
