WILMINGTON, Del. – The University of New Haven men's basketball team had its four-game win streak snapped on Sunday afternoon, falling to Goldey-Beacom by a 74-64 margin. Leading the Chargers in the matinee was sophomore Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) and junior Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) who each finished with 13 points.

Overall, Bailey and Bourke made up two-third of a trio that finished in double figures as junior Najee Larcher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) joined them with 10 points. Among all the leading scorers, Larcher led New Haven's individual shooting efforts, converting all but two of his field goal attempts, while senior Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) joined him, making 4-of-5 field goals for eight points on the day.

As a team, New Haven finished the contest shooting 45.1 percent overall, making 23-of-51 form the field, including seven three pointers. After being held off the free throw line in the opening half, the Chargers closed out the game shooting 91.7 percent at the line, making 11-of-12 attempts. Leading the way at the line individually was Bourke who finished perfect in six trips.  

The Chargers also trailed Goldey-Beacom in the battle of the boards by a 33-29 march, the second-straight game New Haven has been outrebounded by its opponent. Leading New Haven was sophomore Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) who pulled down six boards, while eight different players finished with at least one rebound on the afternoon.

Senior Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) finished the day hitting his average for the season with seven assists against the Lightning, while the Chargers leading scorer played in foul trouble throughout the contest. Overall, he finished with three points to go along with his team-leading assists.
 
FIRST-HALF NOTES:

·         New Haven came out of the gates with a fury, opening up the game scoring eight unanswered point, including back-to-back three pointers from Bourke and Bailey that provided the first points for either squad. The Chargers would maintain that lead through the first 17-plus minutes.

·         Following that opening rally, the Lightning managed to knot the score at 10, however the Chargers responded by scoring seven straight to regain a seven point advantage. That rally for New Haven included a three pointer from Rowland as well as buckets from Vasic and Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk)

·         The first lead chance of the afternoon came with 2:41 remaining before the intermission, with a pair of free throws from the Lightning's Kyle Elliot providing a 25-24 Goldey-Beacom lead. Those two free throws also began a 9-2 rally for the home team as they would close out the opening half with a 32-26 advantage.

·         Bailey led six different scorers in the opening half for New Haven as he finished with eight points, making half of his six field goal attempts with two of those from outside the arc.

SECOND-HALF NOTES:

·         Despite Bourke opening the scoring in the second half, the Lightning remained persistent, quickly opening up their first double digit lead thanks to a layup from Tevin Service with 16:53 remaining.

·         Facing a 13-point deficit less than four minutes into the second half, the Chargers looked to rally, scoring five unanswered points to pull the deficit to eight, 41-33 thanks to a three pointer from Joseph Doganiero (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro). The Lightning responded to that run by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to open up their biggest lead to that point, 52-35 with 12:38 remaining.  

·         The largest deficit the Chargers would face came with 8:58 remaining when Goldey-Beacom's Dante Thomson scored on a jumper. New Haven was unable to mount a comeback down the stretch, never breaking the 10-pount plateau down the stretch.

·         With the majority of his points coming at the free throw line, Bourke led New Haven with 10 points in the second half. Overall, he finished 2-of-5 from the field while not missing any of his six free throw attempts.

·         In addition to Bourke, Larcher also put up impressive second half numbers as he finished perfect from the field in three attempts for six points.

UP NEXT
New Haven will finally make its first appearance of the season when they tip-off back-to-back home conference games welcoming crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State University for a Wednesday (Nov. 29) night battle. Fans should wear white to the home opener as the Chargers look to "white-out" the Owls at Charger Gym. Tip-off in the home opener is slated for 7:30 p.m., following the women's game. Complete coverage of Charger men's basketball can be found at www.NewHavenChargers.com.