SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A late three pointer from junior Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) and a pair of free throws in the final seconds inked the University of New Haven men's basketball team's fourth-straight win, improving to 2-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference with a 72-66 victory over American International on Tuesday night. The perfect record through the first two games in NE10 play for the Chargers is the first time they have won their first two league games since joining the conference for the 2008-09 season.  

Leading the Chargers on the night was sophomore Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who led a group of four players who scored in double figures with a season-best 18 points. The guard closed out the night with five field goals, four of which came from outside the arc, while he was a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line.

Joining Bailey in leading the Chargers offense was Bourke with 15 points, senior point guard Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) with 14 and senior forward Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) with a dozen. Bourke and Vasic finished in impressive fashion as the pair combined to make 10-of-11 field goals, with Vasic closing out the game perfect from the field in five attempts. As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 47.2 percent overall (25-of-53) which included seven three pointers. The Chargers also combined for 15 free throws in 19 attempts.

Upchurch led New Haven with six rebounds, part of seven players who finished with at least one board. Joining him among the rebounding leaders was Vasic and sophomore Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) who each hauled in five. As a team, New Haven fell short of the Yellow Jackets in the rebounding battle with a 44-32 final margin, the first time this season the Chargers have been outrebounded by the opposition. Upchurch also led New Haven with four assists, while Bailey corralled a team-best three steals.
 
FIRST-HALF NOTES:

·         New Haven opened up the game converting its first three field goal attempts, all leading to an early 7-2 lead less than 90 seconds into the game. All three buckets came from different players, with Upchurch converting a three point play in the early rally as he was fouled after converting a layup. The Chargers would never look back from that point, leading from end-to-end.

·         The Blue and Gold's largest lead in the first half came following five-unanswered as Vasic converted a three point play followed by a Bourke jumper that provided a 12-6 advantage.

·         The Yellow Jackets were able to pull within a single possession on a number of occasions, including on a three pointer with three minutes remaining, however a layup from Upchurch would net the final points of the half and provide a 30-26 lead at the break.

·         Seven different players would provide offense for the Chargers in the opening half, led by Uphcurch who put up seven points on 3-of-9 shooting. The Chargers did struggle from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes, finishing with a single bucket in 11 attempts.

SECOND-HALF NOTES:

·         Less than four minutes into the second half, the Chargers managed to extend their lead into double digits for the first time, utilizing a 7-0 run on baskets from Upchurch, Bailey and Vasic, with the last from Vasic part of a three point play that resulted in a 44-33 New Haven lead.

·         AIC wasn't going to go down without a fight as they would use a 10-4 run mid-way through the half to cut the Chargers lead to four with seven minutes remaining. The Chargers responded with an 8-0 run that included three pointers from Bailey and Bourke and extended New Havens lead to its largest of the day, 63-51.

·         Again, AIC wasn't going to go down easy, using a 12-2 run that cut New Haven's lead to a single point with under 90 seconds remaining. The Blue and Gold would again respond with a three pointer, another from Bourke with 18 seconds remaining, while Upchurch closed out the victory with a perfect trip to the free throw line, providing the final six point margin.

·         All of the Chargers second half scoring came from their starting five, with Bailey leading the squad with 13 points on 4-of-7 from the field overall, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Bourke also finished with double figures in the second half as he put up 11 points with all of his field goals from outside the arc, while going of 2-of-2 at the line.

·         The Chargers rebounded from their first half three point shooting struggles to finish with six buckets from long range in 10 attempts. Bailey and Bourke each finished with three.

UP NEXT
New Haven will play the final game of its season-opening six-game road trek on Sunday when they return to non-conference play at Goldey-Beacom. Opening tip against the Lightning is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at Joseph West Jones Center in Wilmington, Del. 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.