MERCYHURST (10–11, 5–3 NEC) vs NEW HAVEN (9–11, 4–3 NEC)
Thursday, January 29– 7:00 p.m. EST
Mercyhurst Athletic Center, Erie, Pa.
TV: NECFrontRow
Stats: https://hurstathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

Mercyhurst will host New Haven for the first time in program history Thursday as they host the Chargers in an NEC matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. The Lakers will meet the Chargers after most recently coming off home win as they faced Chicago State and surpassed the Cougars 61-59. The Lakers met New Haven once already this season winning the matchup 61-57. Live coverage will be available on NECFrontRow.

Last Time Out
Mercyhurst most recently met NEC foe Chicago State where they won 61-59. It was a tense matchup as the Lakers found themselves down by two going into the half. A team effort led to the Mercyhurst win, as nine separate Lakers found their name on the scoresheet.

Bernie Blunt III led the Lakers in points with 19. He went 6-13 from the field, grabbed three rebounds, and one assist.

Christian Gamble stood out for the Lakers scoring 12 points, picking up four assists, and securing five rebounds. He went 5-9 from the field and attempted a career high six threes.

Jake Lemelman continued to be a constant for the Lakers scoring 12 points. Lemelman shot 50% from the field and grabbed 5 assists.

Mykolas Ivanauskas came up big for the Lakers defensively, grabbing a team high 12 rebounds.

Laker Leaders 
Bernie Blunt III is third in the NEC in points per game averaging 16.2. He is sixth in FG% shooting 43.6%, second in free throw% shooting 83.7%, and is seventh in 3-PT field goals per game averaging 2.0 per game.

Jake Lemelman is twelfth in the NEC in points per game averaging 13.0, seventh in FG% shooting 43.1% and seventh in assists averaging 3.1 per game.

Lemelman is also eighth in steals averaging 1.3 per game. Qadir Martin is first in the NEC in blocks averaging 2.65 per game and is eighth in rebounds averaging 6.3 per game.

Deshaun Jackson Jr. has also gotten his name on the NEC leader board sitting at tenth in assists averaging 2.8 per game.

The Matchup: New Haven
New Haven is 9-11 overall and 4-3 in conference play. Their only losses in conference have come from Mercyhurst, Le Moyne, and CCSU. The Chargers played a competitive non-conference schedule, opening their Division I debut at NO. 4 UConn where they fell 55-79. They followed this match up playing Colombia and Penn State. They found their first win of the season at UMass Lowell where they won 73- 67. Throughout their non-conference schedule they also met contenders like Fordham, NO. 11 Vanderbilt, Seton Hall, and Boston College.

Junior guard Jabri Fitzpatrick leads the Chargers in points per game averaging 11.8. Fitzpatrick also leads the Chargers in assists averaging 2.6 per game, and steals averaging 1.8 per game.

Andre Pasha is also a leader for the Chargers, averaging 10.0 points per game and shooting 47.0% from the field. He also is a team leader in threes, shooting 37.5%, blocks, averaging 0.6 per game, and rebounds averaging 4.0 per game.

Najimii George and Stefano Faloppa also lead the Chargers on the stat sheet. George averages 11.2 points, and 1.4 assists per game. Faloppa shoots 54.4% from the field, averages a team high 5.3 rebounds per game, and averages 7.3 points per game

The Chargers are coached by Ted Hotaling who is in his 16th season with the Chargers. He is 227-194 overall with the Chargers. The Lakers have met the Chargers once in program history. They met last week, January 22, where they won 61-57. Coach Gary Manchel has met the Chargers 18 times in program history and is 14-4 overall.