PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Junior transfer Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) took over in overtime, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds to lead the University of New Haven men's basketball team (2-1) to a 65-63 victory over the Le Moyne Dolphins in the 2016-17 Northeast-10 Conference opener. Vasic was one of two players to finish with a double double, closing out the game with 16 points and 11 boards.

Leading all scorers in the game was junior transfer Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) who capped off the evening with 21 points on 7-of-23 shooting, including four three pointers, and a 3-of-5 effort at the free throw line. Upchurch also pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists.

Joining Vasic with a double double was Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) who finished with 11 points and 18 rebounds, the most rebounds since Feb. 24, 2015 when Eric Anderson pulled in 17 against Adelphi. Rounding out the double figure scorers for New Haven was Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who finished with a dozen, making half of his 10 shot attempts. The four players in double figures is the second time this season for the Blue and Gold.

As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 46.3 percent from the field, making 25-of-54 field goal attempts. The Chargers finished with six three pointers, while converting 9-of-18 at the free throw line. The Chargers also combined for 42 rebounds, outrebounding the Dolphins who pulled in just 26 boards.

Defensively, the Chargers held Le Moyne to just one field goal over the final 9:30 of second half and compounded that with holding the Dolphins scoreless for the first 3:10 in overtime and not giving up a field goal in the extra frame until there were 71 seconds remaining.

FIRST HALF NOTES

·         New Haven came out of the gets and quickly opened up an 8-0 lead, not allowing the Dolphins on the board for the first four-plus minutes. During that early stretch, the Chargers missed only one of their three shot attempts, while Upchurch scored five of those first eight points.

·         New Haven would hold onto that early lead for the first nine minutes of the game before a Dolphins dunk with 11:01 remaining in the opening half provided the first lead change of the evening.

·         The Blue and Gold trailed by as much as eight in that opening half, but closed out the half with a six point deficit thanks to a layup from Felizor that provided the final offense of the half for either team.

·         Upchurch led all scorers in the opening half as he finished with a dozen points, nine of which came from beyond the three point arc where he missed just one of his four attempts. He was also 3-of-5 at the free throw line.

·         The Chargers held a 16-9 advantage on the boards in the first half, led by Felizor who pulled down six. Overall, six different Chargers finished with at least one rebound in the first half.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·         After trading points over the first four minutes of the half, Le Moyne opened up its first double digit lead of the night using a string of five unanswered points.

·         Facing a 10 point deficit with 9:44 remaining, the Chargers offense kicked into gear, holding the Dolphins to just one layup and seven points overall over the final nine-plus minutes.

·         Sparking the rally for New Haven was a three pointer from the corner for Bailey thanks to an Upchurch pass. The Chargers then relied on defense and rebounding to claw back to a one point deficit which came with 5:03 remaining in regulation.

·         After a layup and 30 seconds later a free throw from Le Moyne's Daniel Kaigler, the Chargers back-to-back layups from Felizor and a layup form Upchurch with the last one, providing a lead change and a two-point New Haven advantage.

·         Le Moyne would tie the game with 21 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws from Kaigler, while a three point attempt at the buzzer from Upchurch would rim out and send the game into OT.

OVERTIME HIGHLIGHTS

·         After winning the OT tip, the Chargers would score seven unanswered points as the New Haven defense held the Dolphins without a field goal for nearly four minutes. In that span, Le Moyne would score just two points which came at the three throw line.

·         Vasic took over on the inside for New Haven in the overtime period, scoring the first two layups of the extra frame, including the second which came on an offensive board.

·         A Dolphins three pointer cut the New Haven lead to two points, while an empty trip to the line with six seconds left, put New Haven's defense to the test. Tommy Hunt (Smithfield, R.I./St. Andrew's) would poke the ball away from Le Moyne's Tyree Chambers as the last ticks ran off the clock for the New Haven victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·         The double double for Vasic and Felizor is the second time in three games the two have each finished with a double double in the same game.

·         The win against Le Moyne is the first time they have won their conference opener since Nov. 16, 2011 when they defeated Saint Rose 80-73. It is also the first home opening victory since the 2014-15 season.

·         New Haven's defense held the Dolphins 19 points under their average over the first two games, which entering the night was 82 points per game. The Dolphins also entered the night making 54.3 percent of their shots, while being held to 40.7 percent tonight.

·         New Haven is now a perfect 2-0 on the season when outrebounding its opponent.

·         All but two of New Haven's 65 points against Le Moyne came from new faces on the Chargers bench, with the only two points from a returning player coming from Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton). Of the 63 other points, 37 came from the junior transfers and 26 came from true freshman.

·         The 21 points by Upchurch represents the first player to score 20-plus on the season.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·         Vasic and Felizor each finished with a double double for @GoChargersMBB, the 2nd time the pair has combined to finish with a double double

·         The 21 points for Upchurch is a career-best for the JR and the 1st time this season a @GoChargersMBB player finished with 20 or more

·         .@GoChargersMBB 's defense held the Dolphins to just one FG over a 13:33 stretch that helped force OT and led to the eventual victory

·         JR transfer Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) scored 8 points and pulled down 4 rebounds in the OT period, leading to his second double double of the season

NEXT ON TAP
New Haven continues a three-game stretch of NE-10 match-ups on Saturday when they travel to Nolan Gymnasium at Saint Rose for a doubleheader with the women's team. The Chargers are scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. tip as they look to go 2-0 in the Northeast Division.