New Haven hosts Mercyhurst after Blunt’s 20-point game

Mercyhurst Lakers (8-11, 3-3 NEC) at New Haven Chargers (9-10, 4-2 NEC)

West Haven, Connecticut; Friday, 1 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Mercyhurst faces New Haven after Bernie Blunt scored 20 points in Mercyhurst’s 79-61 victory over the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils.

The Chargers are 6-2 in home games. New Haven ranks sixth in the NEC with 21.4 defensive rebounds per game led by Andre Pasha averaging 3.9.

The Lakers are 3-3 in NEC play. Mercyhurst is the best team in the NEC giving up just 66.1 points per game while holding opponents to 42.9% shooting.

New Haven is shooting 44.2% from the field this season, 1.3 percentage points higher than the 42.9% Mercyhurst allows to opponents. Mercyhurst averages 66.8 points per game, 0.3 fewer than the 67.1 New Haven allows to opponents.

The Chargers and Lakers match up Friday for the first time in NEC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jabri Fitzpatrick is scoring 11.8 points per game with 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Chargers. Najimi George is averaging 10.9 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 40.8% over the last 10 games.

Blunt averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Lakers, scoring 16.3 points while shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc. Jake Lemelman is shooting 42.5% and averaging 13.2 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Chargers: 4-6, averaging 61.2 points, 26.9 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 6.1 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 42.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.3 points per game.

Lakers: 5-5, averaging 67.6 points, 29.2 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 8.6 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.