WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven men's basketball team (6-5, 2-4 Northeast-10) closed out the fall semester with its third straight non-conference win of the season 70-56 over the visiting Georgian Court Lions on Tuesday night. Leading the Chargers for the second straight game with his second double double in a row was junior Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) who chipped in 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Vasic was one of three players to score in double figures with junior point guard Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) leading all scorers with 17 points, converting 7-of-19 field goal attempts, three of which came from outside the arc. Upchurch also dished out five assists. Vasic led all players on the night with a 6-of-8 shooting effort. Rounding out the leading scorers was freshman Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who closed out the night with 16 points on 5-of-15 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line.
As a team, New Haven shot 40 percent from the field, making 26-of-65 field goal attempts with six coming from long range. The Chargers also finished 12-of-14 from the free throw line, while posting a 37-29 advantage on the boards. Following Vasic's career-high 13 rebounds was freshman Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) who pulled in seven while all but one of the Chargers who saw time finished with at least one rebounds.
FIRST HALF NOTES
· Bailey answered the opening bucket of the game from the Lions with a three pointer off a feed from Upchurch and the Chargers went on to lead the game for 36 of the 40 total minutes en route to the victory.
· With a two point advantage just shy of four minutes into the game, the Chargers scored back-to-back layups from Bailey and Vasic in a 62 second span, taking their largest lead to that point 12-6.
· Following a three pointer for the Lions, the Blue and Gold rattled off three straight buckets to take their largest lead of the half at nine points, which came twice in a 30 second span. A layup from Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) provided that first nine point lead, while Upchurch drilled a jumper with 13:05 remaining in the half to match that lead.
· After whittling away at the Blue and Gold's lead, the Lions took a lead with 4:29 remaining in the half before New Haven went on to score the final eight points of the half with a tip-in from Vasic sparking the final rally. A layup from Upchurch with 30 seconds remaining before the break provided the final margin at the half, 37-31.
· Vasic lead the Chargers scoring in the first half finishing as the only player in double figures with 10 points as he was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. Upchurch and Bailey each followed him with nine points apiece, with each hitting one of the Chargers three first half three pointers.
SECOND HALF NOTES
· Coming out of the locker room, the Chargers opened up their first double digit lead of the night scoring five of the first seven points to take a 44-33 lead on a Felizor tip-in with 16:35 remaining.
· After trading the next four baskets, the Lions again began to chip into the Chargers lead, getting as close as three points on a pair of occasions, the last of which came with 7:40 remaining.
· New Haven answered that by scoring the next 15 points, holding Georgian Court without a bucket for nearly four minutes while building its lead to 18 with 3:05 to play. Sparking that run for the Chargers were back-to-back three pointers from Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) and Upchurch.
· The Blue and Gold's largest lead of the game came with just shy of two minutes remaining when a three pointer from Upchurch netted a 19 point, 68-49, advantage. That basket came courtesy of a feed from Bailey.
· The Chargers scoring in the second half was balanced throughout the team with six different players accounting for the 33 points. Leading the way overall was Upchurch who finished with eight points, while Bailey and Felizor chipped in seven each.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
· Vasic's second straight double double extends his team lead in that category to four on the season while his 13 rebounds set a career-high.
· The win for New Haven pushed the Chargers non-conference record to 4-1 while it was the third straight win in non-league play, with the last wins both against teams from the CACC.
· With this victory, New Haven is now 5-0 when leading at the half, while they improve to 5-2 when outrebounding its opponent.
· Defensively, New Haven held the Lions nearly seven points shy of their season average of 63.6 points per game, while handing Georgian Court its fourth straight loss.
· The win for seventh year head coach Ted Hotaling is the 93rd of his career as he inches closer to the 100 win plateau. Hotaling will become just the fourth coach in the history of the program to reach 100 wins at the helm of the Chargers.
TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)
· Junior transfer Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) recorded his second straight and team-leading fourth double double leading @GoChargersMBB to the victory
· Point guard Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) led @GoChargersMBB in scoring for the 7th time in 11 total games during his first season with the Blue and Gold
· .@GoChargersMBB improved to a perfect 5-0 when leading its opponent at the half, while they are now 5-2 when outrebounding the opposition
· FR Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) has now scored in double figures in 5 of his last 6 games and is averaging 18.5 points for @GoChargersMBB during that span
NEXT ON TAP
Following today's game, New Haven embarks on a 17 day hiatus with their next game just prior to the New Year on December 30. The Chargers will close out the calendar year and a five-game homestand with a visit from the Queens Knights. Tip off in what is the second game of a doubleheader with the women's team (vs. Post) is slated for 3:00 p.m.
