GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Junior Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) finished with a career-high 24 points to lead the New Haven men's basketball team (12-12 overall, 7-10 NE10) in a 85-81 road loss at Adelphi on Saturday afternoon. Vasic's 24 points came on a 73 percent shooting effort as he connected on 11 of 15 attempts from the field.

Vasic was one of five New Haven players to finish in double figures, joined by classmate Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) (15 points) and freshmen Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) (11 points), Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) (11 points) and Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) (10 points). The five players in double figures is the third time this season the Chargers have had five players score 10 or more.

As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 47.3 percent from the field, making 35-of-74 attempts. Six of the Chargers 35 field goals came from outside the three point arc, while the Blue and Gold made just seven trips to the free throw line, compared to 31 for the Panthers. New Haven finished 5-of-7 at the line for the game.

The Chargers also dropped the battle of the boards by a 35-32 margin, led by Felizor who pulled in seven boards. Upchurch and Vasic followed him with six each.

FIRST HALF NOTES

·         After giving up a trio of three pointers in the first four minutes to Adelphi, the Chargers defense kicked into gear and held the Panthers without a field goal for just over eight minutes while putting together a 19-3 run. Included in that run were three baskets from Vasic as well as the Chargers first three pointer of the game off the hands of Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School). In that run, the Panthers went 0-for-10 from the field while New Haven hit on 9-of-17.  

·         During that run, the Chargers opened up their largest lead of the first half at nine points, 21-12 thanks to a jump shot from Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic), his third field goal of the game in as many attempts. Also opening up the game with a hot hand was junior Tommy Hunt (Smithfield, R.I./St. Andrew's) who matched Upchurch in going 3-of-3 in the early going.

·         The Chargers broke up an 8-0 run for the Panthers with back-to-back baskets, breaking a 23-23 tie with a jumper from Kane and a steal and fast break dunk from Najee Larcher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) with just under five minutes remaining before the intermission.

·         Upchurch broke up another Adelphi run, this time 10-0 scamper, with his first long range bucket of the day giving him a team-high nine first half points.

·         After Adelphi matched that three pointer, the Chargers closed out the half with back-to-back baskets in the final 40 seconds to pull within two at the intermission, 36-34. Those two buckets came on a drive down the middle of the lane from Bourke and a layup from Kane as time expired.

·         Upchurch's nine points led eight Chargers who all scored at least one field goal in the first half, while all eight also pulled in at least one rebound in the frame. Upchurch also led the way with his 4-of-5 shooting effort, while Hunt and Vasic followed him in the scoring column with six points each, both hitting 3-of-6 from the field.

·         As a team, the Chargers closed out the half shooting 40 percent on 16-of-40 field goal attempts, including making two from outside the arc. New Haven did not have the benefit of making a trip to the line in the first 20 minutes and trailed the Panthers 23-16 in the battle of the boards.

SECOND HALF NOTES

·         The Chargers came out of the intermission and scored the first two buckets of the half, both from Felizor including a steal and his second dunk of the afternoon.

·         As the teams jockeyed the lead back and forth seven times over the first seven minutes of the half, the Chargers enjoyed the largest lead in that stretch, a four point advantage that came courtesy of a pullup three pointer from Kane with a defender in his face. Overall, the Chargers opened up the second half making seven of their first 10 field goal attempts.

·         The seesaw battle continued into single digit minutes with the Chargers again gaining the largest lead of the half of four, this time as Vasic followed up a three pointer from Bailey, all of which led to a 59-55 lead.

·         The turning point for the Panthers came with just over six minutes remaining when Adelphi broke a 65-65 stalemate with a 7-2 run that led to a five point lead they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game.

·         Vasic broke that Adelphi run scoring four unanswered points to pull back to a one point game 72-71 with 3:37 remaining. Those four points pushed Vasic over the 20-point plateau for the second time this season. Overall, Vasic scored 10 of the Chargers final 16 points of the game all over the final 5:36.

·         Vasic led the Chargers in the second half, scoring 18 of his 24 points over the final 20 minutes.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·         The career-high 24 points for junior Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) is his second game of the season with 20-plus points and the 10th time this season a Charger has scored 20 or more in a game.

·         New Haven's five players who finished in double figures is the third time this season the Chargers have had five players in double figures and the first since a January 21 win over Southern New Hampshire that five or more players finished with 10 or more points.

·         The 74 total field goal attempts for New Haven is a season-high with the next closest total field goal attempts for a single game this season 67. 

NEXT ON TAP
New Haven returns to the friendly confines of Charger Gymnasium for one final time in the regular season when they host crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State University on Wednesday, February 15. The Chargers and Owls are slated to tip off at 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.