WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The New Haven men's basketball team (9-7, 4-6 NE10) had 7.7 seconds remaining on its final possession when sophomore Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) drove the length of the court and through the middle of the lane, laying up the game winner as time expired to lift the Chargers to an 80-78 win over Assumption on Saturday afternoon. Bourke was among the starting five who all finished in double figures as he closed out the afternoon with 16 points and four assists.

Leading all Charger scorers was junior Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) who finished with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 3-of-4 at the line. Junior Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) matched Bourke's 16 points while Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) finished with a dozen and Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) chipped in 10. Felizor's 12 points combined with 12 rebounds led to his third double double of the season and first since November 16.

As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 56 percent on 28-of-50, including six three pointers. The Chargers also combined to finish 18-of-23 at the free throw line. The Blue and Gold also finished in a deadlock in the battle of the board with each team finishing with 30. Felizor's 12 boards led all players in the game while Najee Larcher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) and Kane finished behind him with six and five, respectively.

FIRST HALF NOTES

·         New Haven came out of the gates strong, scoring the first four points of the contest all of which came on a pair of layups form Vasic. The Chargers held that lead for nearly 11 minutes before relinquishing to the Greyhounds.

·         The Chargers largest lead during that 11 minute stretch came on two occasions, the first of which was a layup form Felizor that resulted in a 7-2 advantage. Just over a minute after that lead, a trio of free throws from Bourke matched that lead at 10-5.

·         The Greyhounds only lead, 16-14, came at the end of a four-point rally with the Chargers ending that run with back-to-back layups from Bourke and Tommy Hunt (Smithfield, R.I./St. Andrew's). That lead change would prove to be the last of the half as New Haven never trailed over the final eight plus minutes of the half.

·         Over those final eight minutes, the Blue and Gold's largest lead came thanks to a six point rally that ended with a 32-23 advantage with 3:08 remaining before the break. That run consisted of layups from three different players; Vasic, Kane and Larcher.

·         The final points of the half for New Haven also came on a layup from Larcher as the Chargers took a 37-31 advantage into the break.

·         Vasic and Bourke each finished with eight points to lead the Chargers in the opening half with Vasic's eight coming on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. All seven Chargers who saw time in the opening half finished with at least three points.

·         As a team, New Haven shot 53.8 percent from the field, the third best first half shooting of the season. Overall, the Chargers finished 14-of-26 with three of those baskets from outside the three point stripe.  

SECOND HALF NOTES

·         The Chargers answered a quick second half jumper from the Greyhounds with a three pointer from Kane which led to a seven point lead and matched that again just 90 seconds into the half thanks to a layup form Felizor.

·         Assumption would then rally for the next six points, cutting the New Haven lead to a single point before a three pointer from Burke at the 17:05 mark broke that momentum and began a six point rally for the Chargers. Felizor capped off that run with an old fashioned three point play to extend the Charger lead to 49-42.

·         The Blue and Gold continued to build on its lead pushing into double figures for the first time on a pair of free throws from Upchurch that resulted in a 62-51 lead with 7:57 remaining.

·         Those two free throws were part of a 15-4 run for the Chargers that eventually led to New Haven's largest advantage of the day, 69-55 which came on a pair of free throws from Kane.

·         Following that, the Greyhounds began chipping into that lead, eventually leading to a game-tying three pointer from Marcus Murray with 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation.

·         Without a pause, the Chargers impounded to Bourke who dribbled up the left sideline and cut to the middle of the lane before driving to the hoop for the game-winner that rattled through as the buzzer sounded.

·         Upchurch led the Chargers scoring in the second half as he collected 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and a pair of free throws. Overall, the five starters provided all 43 second half points with none finishing with under six.

·         The Chargers increased their shooting percentage in the second half, again finishing with 14 baskets, this time coming on 24 attempts for a 58.3 percent effort. New Haven also capitalized at the free throw line in the second half where they finished making 12-of-15 attempts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·         The double double for Felizor was the ninth of the season for New Haven and his third of the year and first since November 16 against Le Moyne.

·         The 56 percent shooting effort for New Haven is a season-high and just the third time this season the Chargers have shot 50 percent of better for a game.

·         The win over Assumption is the fifth straight against the Grey Hounds and the second straight time it has come down to the wire as the victory last season required overtime.

·         As a team, the Chargers combined for 17 assists, a season-best, led by Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) who finished with seven, the 11th time this season he has dished out six or more.

·         Vasic continued his hot performance of late, increasing his scoring average of the last four games to 15.8 points while shooting an impressive 66.7 percent (26-of-39) in that stretch.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·         Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) scored the game-winner for @GoChargersMBB as they scored their fifth-straight win against the #NE10 rival

·         All five @GoChargersMBB starters finished in doubles figures for the First time since Feb 2016, led by Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) who drained 17 points

·         Vasic's team-high 17 pts for @GoChargersMBB increased his avg over the last 4 games to 15.8 points, shooting nearly 67% in that stretch

·         As a team, @GoChargersMBB shot a season-high 56 percent as a team, led by Vasic who missed just one of eight attempts

·         The win for New Haven inched @GoChargersMBB head coach Ted Hotaling closer to the century mark, now with 96 career victories

NEXT ON TAP
New Haven will play a single game on the road before returning to the friendly confines of Charger Gymnasium. The next Chargers return to the hardwood on Wednesday, January 18 when they travel to Franklin Pierce for a 7:30 p.m. tip at Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse in Rindge, N.H.