WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Behind a career-high 18 points from sophomore guard Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech), the University of New Haven men's basketball team cruised to an 81-60 victory over the visiting LIU Post Pioneers on Wednesday night at Charger Gym. Rowland was one of three players in double figures as senior point guard Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) led all New Haven players in the game with 20 points while dishing out a game-high nine assists.

Rounding out the leading scorers for the Chargers was senior guard Joseph Doganiero (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro) who chipped in with a dozen points. Rowland's career-high 18 points came on an 8-of-12 shooting performance, while Upchurch finished the night shooting 7-of-12 with six of those baskets from outside the three point arc. Doganiero also shot well on the night as he finished 5-of-8 overall with a pair of three pointers.

Overall, nine different players provided offense for the Chargers with sophomore's Najee Larcher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) and Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) each adding eight points and senior Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) contributing a half dozen. Larcher led all New Haven shooters on the night as he did not miss from the field in four attempts. While Vasic and Bailey each finished with three buckets, two of Bailey's from outside the arc.

The Blue and Gold also won the battle of the boards with a 32-30 advantage on the night, led by sophomore Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) who finished with a season-high 10 boards. Classmate Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) followed just behind with nine rebounds, while Larcher pulled down eight. New Haven also capitalized on the Pioneers miscues, finishing with 22 points off of LIU Post's 12 turnovers.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·         After Vasic opened up the game with a layup on the Chargers opening possession, The Pioneers went on an 11-2 run to open up an 11-4 lead.

·         LIU Post would build as much as a nine point advantage before New Haven ended the opening half on a 23-2 run that spanned the final eight minutes. Included in that rally was five buckets from outside the three point arc as the Chargers sank six three pointers total in the first 20 minutes.

·         Part of that 23-2 run for New Haven included, closing out the half scoring the final 16 points unanswered by the Pioneers. That final run spanned the final 5:11 of the half. The final eight points of the half all came from Upchurch, the first six of which came on back-to-back three pointers.

·         Overall, Rowland led the Chargers in the first half, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-7 from the field. Upchurch finished the half with eight points.

·         Kane led New Haven's rebounding efforts in the first half with eight of the 18 total rebounds as the Chargers trailed LIU Post in that battle by one at the break.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·         Upchurch continued his late first half heroics by opening up the second half scoring with a three pointer just 19 seconds in the action thanks to a pass from Vasic.

·         LIU Post was unable to break the double digit deficit margin in the second half, pulling only as close as a 12 point buffer just over four minutes into the half.

·         The Chargers responded by scoring 13 of the next 18 points to open up their first 20 point lead with 12:41 remaining thanks to a layup from Rowland.

·         With eight minutes remaining in the contest, the Pioneers looked like they were beginning to build momentum when they drilled back-to-back three pointers, only to be answered by a long range bucket from Upchurch.

·         An 8-0 New Haven run that spanned just 70 seconds with under five minutes remaining iced the Blue and Gold's victory, resulting in the Chargers largest lead of the day, 76-53 with 3:35 remaining.

·         Upchurch and Doganiero each finished in double figures in the second half with Upchurch leading the way with a dozen points. Doganiero finished with 10 points, his coming on a 4-of-5 shooting effort, while all of Upchurch's four field goals in the second half came from outside the arc.

UP NEXT
New Haven will enjoy an extended break following today's game as they will not return to the court until the New Year when they host Saint Anselm on January 3 as part of a day/night doubleheader with the women's team. Tip off as the Chargers return to NE10 action in the New Year is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.