FLUSHING, N.Y. – Behind a nearly 60-percent shooting effort, the University of New Haven men's basketball team cruised to its second victory of the season defeating the Queens College Knights 86-74 at Fitzgerald Gymnasium. Leading the Chargers was senior point guard Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) who scored a career-high 31 points and finished just shy of a double double with nine assists.

Upchurch was one of three Chargers to score in double figures with junior guard Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) joining him in the 20-plus club on the night, finishing with 20 points. Senior forward Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) put on a shooting clinic as he converted all but one of his nine field goal attempts for 16 points. Overall, the three leading scorers combined to shoot 65 percent (22-of-34), including Bourke and Upchurch combining for 27 points from beyond the arc on nine three pointers. Upchurch also finished 13-of-16 at the free throw line.

Overall eight different players provided offense for the Chargers with Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) also among the leaders with eight points as he connected on 3-of-6 from the field. As a team, the Chargers finished the night shooting 57.7 percent, making 30 field goals in 50 attempts with 11 of those buckets coming from long range. All together, the Chargers shot 50 percent from outside the arc, while also adding 15 points on 20 attempts at the free throw line.

For the third time in as many games, the Chargers finished with a rebounding advantage in comparison with their opponent, this time narrowly out gaining the Knights 32-31. Leading New Haven's rebounding efforts was Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) who finished with eight boards. Joining him in leading the way was Najee Larcher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) with seven and Upchurch who pulled down six boards.

FIRST HALF NOTES

·         New Haven jumped out to an early 6-0 lead thanks to back-to-back three pointers from Upchurch and Bourke and never looked back from that early lead. The Chargers quickly extended their advantage into double figures, again utilizing a three-point bucket with Bourke sinking his second of the game which provided a 13-3 lead less than four minutes into the action.

·         Nearly 10 minutes later, the three pointers were raining again, this time with Bourke and Bailey going back-to-back with those two buckets leading to the first 20 point advantage of the night, 36-16. Overall, New Haven's largest lead of the half came with 2:27 remaining before the intermission, not surprisingly coming on another three point basket, this time from Upchurch.

·         Upchurch and Bourke led the Chargers in the first half as both finished as the only players in the game in double figures, with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The pair combined to shoot 8-of-13 from the field with six of those buckets from outside the three point arc. Upchurch also added five assists in the first 20 minutes.

·         As a team, New Haven shot 60 percent in the opening half, making 18-of-30 field goals, which included a 50-percent (7-of-14) effort from long range.

SECOND HALF NOTES

·         New Haven again came out of the locker room scoring the first two hoops with Bourke hitting from long range and Vasic scoring in the pair to extend the Chargers lead back over the 20-point margin, 51-29.

·         The Knights looked to be making a run of their own when they rattled off six straight points, however New Haven wasn't going to let up, again extending its lead back over the 20-point margin on a pair of occasions with three pointers from Upchurch and Bourke.

·         The Chargers largest lead of the night came with 11:25 remaining when they rattled off seven unanswered point that led to a 24-point advantage, 65-41. Queens responded to that deficit by scoring 12 of their own unmatched points, with that run spanning less than three minutes.

·         Down the stretch, the Chargers secure their victory at the line where they made eight of 10 free throws in the final 76 seconds, with seven of those from Upchurch.

·         Upchurch again led New Haven's scoring efforts in the second half, this time putting up 19 points, with more than half of those coming at the free throw line down the stretch. Overall, he finished the half connecting on three of his six field goal attempts, while he added 11 points, on 13 attempts, at the free throw line.

·         Joining Upchurch in leading the second half surge was Vasic who did not miss any of his five field goal attempts, closing out the period with 10 points.

NEXT ON TAP
New Haven will continue its nearly full first month of the season away from Charger Gymnasium on Saturday when they open up Northeast-10 conference play at Adelphi. Opening tip against the Panthers at the Center for Recreation and Sports is slated for 3:30 p.m. following the women's game. The Chargers will make their debut at Charger Gymnasium on Wednesday, November 29 when they host crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State University in a doubleheader with the women's team. Complete coverage of Charger men's basketball can be found at www.NewHavenChargers.com.