Last Week’s Stats: 6.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 50.0 FG%, 50.0 3FG%
Steele helped New Haven complete its first perfect week against NEC competitors after the Chargers, who previously defeated FDU, extended their win streak to three with victories over Wagner (80-74) on Saturday and Chicago State (62-56) on Monday. The freshman combo guard/forward averaged 6.5 points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field — including a 50.0 percent clip from long range — while pulling down 3.5 boards per game in that stretch. Steele put up significant numbers off the bench against the Seahawks on Saturday, netting 10 points while corralling four rebounds. His lone triple of the game — which came at the 10:44 mark of the opening half — helped the Chargers jump out to a 21-6 advantage after they did all of their scoring from behind the arc during that span. In addition, the 10 points marked the first time in his career that he registered twin figures against a Division I opponent. In New Haven’s come-from-behind win in the Windy City, the Worcester, MA native scored three points and added three rebounds. With this week’s award, he is the third New Haven freshman to earn NEC Rookie of the Week accolades, joining Tristan Burth (Nov. 25) and Aidan Losiewicz (Jan. 6).