LOWELL, Mass. – The University of New Haven men’s basketball team suffered a 80-54 loss Saturday afternoon to the UMass Lowell at
Costello Athletic Center. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 13-6 overall and 9-6 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The River Hawks improved to 14-5 overall and 10-5 in conference play.
Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) hit a three-pointer to open the game, but the River Hawks quickly answered, scoring nine unanswered points to take a 9-3 lead at the 15:33 mark. The Chargers then scored four straight to cut the lead to two, 9-7. Over the next three minutes, UMass Lowell took over the game for good with a 22-3 run which concluded with 8:27 left in the first half. The run gave the home team a 31-10 lead. UNH struggled to respond in the closing minutes of the first half, but kept the score within 20 until the closing minute. Four River Hawk points to close the first half put the Chargers behind by 26, 51-25, at halftime.
The teams exchanged baskets to open the first 10 minutes of the second half, before the River Hawks would improve their lead to as many as 32 points after a three-pointer at the 5:38 mark. UMass Lowell would cruise in the final minutes as both teams used their bench players in the closing minutes. Alan D’Auria scored a three-pointer as time expired to give the Chargers a 26-point loss, 80-54.
The difference in the game was the River Hawks shooting percentage. They connected on a remarkable 60-percent of their shots, and held UNH to just 33-percent from the floor. UMass Lowell also hit 63-percent of its three-point attempts, 10-of-16 in the win.
Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) and Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) each led the Chargers with 10 points. Anderson added a team-high eight rebounds.
New Haven will return to action on Tuesday, January 31 when it travels to Adelphi University in another crucial NE-10 match-up. Game time in Garden City, N.Y. is set for 7:30 p.m. For complete coverage, stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com.
