PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Behind a season-high 22 points from sophomore Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) and the third double double of the season for senior Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic), the University of New Haven men's basketball team snapped its three-game skid with a 76-68 victory over the Pace Setters on Tuesday night at the Goldstein Fitness Center.
Bailey's 22 points led three players in double figures overall as he was joined by Upchurch who finished with 15 points and senior Joseph Doganiero (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro) who dropped in a career-high 16 points as he finished with an impressive 4-of-5 shooting effort, all from beyond the three point arc. He also finished 4-of-4 at the free throw line.
Overall as a team, New Haven shot an even 50 percent on the night, making half of the 50 field goal attempts. In addition to Doganiero's four three pointers, Upchurch also fared well from outside the arc as he missed just one of his four attempts, while finishing 5-of-12 overall. Bailey's 22 points came on a 7-of-12 shooting effort, while he was also 7-of-9 at the free throw line.
As a team, New Haven outrebounded the Setters by a 34-31 margin with Upchurch's 10 boards leading the way as the only player with double figure boards. Joining him in leading the efforts was Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) who pulled down seven boards, while also chipping in nine points. Upchurch and Doganiero also finished with a team-high four assists each.
FIRST HALF NOTES
· Neither team would get on the board until nearly three minutes into the action when Upchurch broke the ice with a layup, however the Setters answered back by rattling off the next seven points before a Doganiero three pointer broke up the momentum.
· A few minutes later, the Chargers used a run of their own, this one 10 unanswered points which led to a 17-10 lead in favor of New Haven. Doganiero began that rally with a three pointer while Bailey added half of the 10 points.
· The largest lead for either squad in the opening half was eight points, that coming on two occasions for New Haven. The first of those was courtesy of a five point run that included a three pointer from Upchurch and a layup from Najee Larcher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian). Upchurch would then connect on a jump shot just under two minutes later, again providing an eight point cushion.
· The Setters would close out the half scoring seven of the final 10 points, however New Haven took a 32-28 lead into the intermission led by Upchurch who poured in 10 points.
· Doganiero finished out the first half perfect in all of his shot attempts, two of which came from outside the arc while he added a pair of points at the free throw line for eight total in the opening half.
SECOND HALF NOTES
· Coming out of the intermission, New Haven needed just under four minutes to gain its first double digit lead of the night when they scored eight of the first 10 points of the half to take a 40-30 lead on a layup from Vasic.
· Just shy of the midway point in the second half, the Chargers opened up their largest lead of the game, 14, for the first time courtesy of a three pointer from Doganiero. They would hit that high of 14 on five more occasions, two more of which came on three point buckets, one each from Upchurch and Doganiero.
· The final 14 point lead for the Chargers came with 2:05 remaining thanks to a pair of free throws from Doganiero, however Pace quickly chipped away at that lead using a 7-0 run to cut its deficit in half with 78 seconds remaining. New Haven responded by making four of its final six free throws to secure the victory.
· Bailey led the way in the second half as he scored 15 of his 22 points, missing just one of his six field goal attempts while also going 4-of-5 at the line. Vasic (9) and Doganiero (8) followed him in leading the way.
UP NEXT
New Haven will play its final Southwest Division game in the first half of divisional play when they host the No. 12 Le Moyne Dolphins on Saturday, December 9. Opening tip against the Dolphins is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
