PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) capped off his fifth double double of the season with 21 points to lead the University of New Haven men's basketball team (8-7, 3-6 Northeast-10) to a 72-66 win over the visiting Stonehill Skyhawks on Tuesday afternoon. Vasic was one of four players to finish in double figures while he added 10 rebounds to lead all players in the game.

Joining Vasic in leading the New Haven offense was freshmen Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) (12 points) and Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) (10 points) and junior Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) (11 points). Felizor and Kane also finished just behind Vasic with seven and six rebounds, respectively, while Kane matched his career-high with three blocks.

Vasic closed out the day shooting 10-of-12 on the afternoon which included a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in the opening half. As a team, New Haven shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62), including an impressive 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the second half. Included in the Chargers 30 field goals were six from beyond the arc with three of those coming from Bourke and a pair from Kane, while the Blue and Gold also finished 6-of-9 from the free throw line.

Vasic's 10 rebounds were part 37 total as New Haven finished with a 37-32 advantage in the rebounding battle, the eighth straight game that the Chargers have outrebounded their opponent. Overall, all seven players that saw time against Stonehill finished with at least one rebound.  

FIRST HALF NOTES

·         After New Haven's Vasic scored the opening bucket of the afternoon, the Skyhawks rattled off eight straight to take their largest lead of the game at 8-2.

·         The Chargers would chip into that lead over the next three minutes, managing to tie the game at 12, the first of five tie scores in the first half. Felizor provided the shot that broke Stonehill's momentum, while the next six points for the Blue and Gold came from beyond the arc as Bourke connected on two straight long range shots to provide the stalemate.

·         New Haven's defense provided a 4:30 stretch through the middle of the first half where they held the Skyhawks scoreless and during that time the Chargers managed to take a four point lead which would prove to be their largest of the half. All three of New Haven's unanswered baskets in that stretch came from Vasic, including a second chance opportunity to begin the run.

·         The Blue and Gold's final lead in the opening half came with just under five minutes remaining before the intermission when Vasic followed up a Tommy Hunt (Smithfield, R.I./St. Andrew's) three pointer that all amounted to a 25-22 advantage. The Skyhawks would go on to close out the half scoring 13 of the final 20 points to take a 35-32 advantage into the locker room.

·         Vasic was tied with Stonehill's Daniel Largey for the game-high at the break, each contributing 12 points and combined the pair finished the half a perfect 10-of-10.

SECOND HALF NOTES

·         Coming out of the locker room, the Chargers defense held Stonehill to just four points, all at the free throw line, over the first five-plus minutes which allowed New Haven to take a 44-39 lead. Vasic and Kane combined to score the first five points of the second half unanswered with Vasic scoring a layup 18 seconds into the action and Kane draining a three pointer.

·         That lead change was the sixth and final of the game as the Skyhawks managed to tie the game on two occasions later in the half but never regained a lead.

·         In addition to not allowing the Skyhawks first field goal until more than five minutes in, New Haven's defense limited Stonehill to just that one field goal over the first eight minutes of the half as they connected on just one of their first 10 shot attempts.

·         After building a six point lead on back-to-back jumpers from Vasic, the Skyhawks began to whittle away at New Haven's lead as they managed to tie the game on back-to-back possessions at 52 and 54.

·         The Chargers answered that second stalemate by rattling off seven unanswered points to regain a comfortable advantage with just shy of three minutes to play. The seven points in that stretch all came from different players.

·         New Haven's largest lead of the game came with 55 seconds remaining when Upchurch fed Bourke on the outside for his third three pointer of the afternoon, resulting in a 66-58 lead.

·         Vasic again led the Chargers in the half as he contributed nine points while both Kaye and Upchurch added seven. Vasic also led the way with seven second half rebounds to complete the double double.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·         The 21 points and 10 rebounds for Vasic was his fifth double double of the season as he remains three shy of the NE10 leader. He also set a new career-high with his 21 points, smashing his previous best of 16 against Le Moyne.

·         New Haven's 57.1 percent shooting performance in the second half was a season-high over the second 20 minutes, while it is also just the second time this season they have shot 50 percent or better in the second half.

·         With his 12 points, Kane has now finished in double figures in three of the last four games and over that stretch is averaging 11.5 points and seven rebounds.

·         The 37-32 advantage on the boards was the 11th time this season that New Haven has outrebounded its opponent, while they hold a 7-4 record in those games. Additionally, the Blue and Gold are now 5-1 when four or more players finish in double figures.

·         In addition to this being the fifth double double of the season or Vasic, it is the eighth time overall this season that a Charger has collected double digits in a pair of statistical categories with those double doubles all coming in six different games. Over those six games, the Chargers hold a 5-1 record, while Vasic is averaging 13.5 points and 9.2 rebounds in those six games.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·         JR Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) scored a career-high 21 points and his 5th double double to lead @GoChargersMBB to an afternoon matinee win over Stonehill

·         FR Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) has finished in double figures in three of the last four games and is averaging 11.5 pts and 7 rebounds during that stretch

·         SO Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) extended his current streak of double figure scoring games to four, averaging a team-best 15.8 pts in that stretch

·         .@GoChargersMBB outrebounded its opponent for the 11th time this season, improving to 7-4 in those games.

·         Four different players scored in double figures for @GoChargersMBB with the Blue & Gold sporting a 5-1 record when 4 or more score 10 plus

NEXT ON TAP
New Haven continues a two-game homestand on Saturday when they host the Assumption Greyhounds in the third game of a 10-game strand of NE10 opponents. Tip off against the Greyhounds is slated for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 14 at Charger Gym.