Mid Massachusetts News

Men's Basketball Downs New Haven In Nailbiter, 65-64

Led by a game-high 20 points from Kani Glover, the Assumption University men's basketball team picked up a 65-64 win over the University of New Haven Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 action.

 

THE BASICS

Score: Assumption University 65, University of New Haven 64

Records: Greyhounds (12-12, 8-9 NE10), Chargers (15-8, 12-6 NE10)

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Assumption came out on fire, as Cooper Creek nailed his first two threes to force an early timeout from New Haven just three minutes in. New Haven was also defensively met with a brick wall as the Greyhounds tried to protect the paint and the three-point line. The lead expanded to 18-9 following an Isiah Gaiter step back with an assist from Cal Connelly. The primary scorer, however, was Kani Glover, as he started 4-5 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc, growing the lead to 27-16. As time ticked on, the Chargers slowly but surely got back into the contest, with Ty Perry leading the charge with nine points. A Davontrey Thomas corner three gave New Haven a lead at 36-35, emphasizing a 7-2 run. Assumption still managed to take a one-point lead into the break, as Kani Glover had a tough finish at the basket to reach 15 points and make the score 37-36 in favor of the Greyhounds.

 

The second half started extremely slow, as only three points were scored in the first four minutes, a three-pointer to New Haven. It would stay a one-possession game for most of the second half, as Assumption had a three-point lead at 12:30, and the Chargers took a full time-out. New Haven crawled back with a Davontrey Thomas floater, which put his total up to 12. Cooper Creek continued his huge play today with his third three at 4:59 to get a three-point lead back to Assumption. The home side almost was able to pull away at the end, with Connelly hitting a circus three in the corner for his only shot beyond the arc of the game. When it started to pull away, New Haven used clutch free throw shooting to make it a one-point game, going 4/4 between Tyrone Perry and Sean Braithwaite. On the ensuing possession, the Chargers took the lead with a Perry layup, but Assumption responded right back, as a blow-up defensively gave Gaiter an easy two and the lead again. The Chargers could not score after that, and the Greyhounds pulled off a huge home win, 65-64, and have now won seven of their last eight.

 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Kani Glover led all scorers with a season-high 20 points while adding five rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Isiah Gaiter stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.
• Cooper Creek (15) and Njavan Stewart (10) also recorded double-digit points.
• New Haven outrebounded Assumption 34-31, while Greyhounds outscored the Chargers on the fast break (13-5).
• The win for Assumption snapped a nine-game losing streak against New Haven, with the Greyhounds' last win coming on Nov. 28, 2012.
• This marks the first time that Assumption has had a four-game winning streak in NE10 action since the 2012-23 campaign.

Original source can be found here