PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The University of New Haven men's basketball team (14-12, 9-10 NE10) put on a shooting clinic on Saturday afternoon, closing out the game with a red hot 71.1 percent effort as the Chargers posted a 98-74 victory over the Pace Setters. Leading the way for New Haven was sophomore Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) who closed out his day with a career-high 35 points.

Bourke was one of four players who finished in double figures as he is the first player this season to score 30 or more. Joining him in leading the Chargers was Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) (13 points), Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) (12 points) and Tommy Hunt (Smithfield, R.I./St. Andrew's) (10 points), while a total of nine different players scored at least three points on the day.

As a team, New Haven combined for 32 field goals over 45 attempts, including an impressive 18 three pointers, the most since January 13, 2015 against Saint Michael's (15). Those 18 three point field goals came on 28 attempts for a 64.3 percent effort, while the Chargers also combined to finish 16-of-19 at the free throw line (84.2 percent).

Individually, Bourke led New Haven with 11 field goals in 16 attempts for a 68.8 percent effort with a career-best nine of those field goals from outside the arc. He also finished perfect at the free throw line in four attempts while the nine three pointers came on 14 attempts for a 64.3 percent effort.

Vasic also had an impressive day from the field as he finished perfect in his five attempts, while also converting both of his trips to the free throw line.

New Haven also finished the day with a 32-23 advantage on the boards, led by Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) who pulled in eight rebounds which he added to eight points. Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) followed him with six rebounds which he added to a team-high six assists while as a team, New Haven finished with 23 assists.

FIRST HALF NOTES

·         New Haven came out of the gates on fire as they opened up on a 12-0 rally hitting four of their first five field goal attempts and holding the Setters off the board for just shy of four minutes. Included in the Chargers first 12 points were a pair of three pointers from Bourke as he alone hit his first four field goals of the day, all of which came from outside the three point arc.

·         The Chargers quickly extended that lead to 16-2 as the shooting success continued hitting five straight field goals and going 4-of-4 at the free throw line.

·         The Blue and Gold built its lead to as much as 20 on two different occasions through the midway point of the first half. Both of those 20 point advantages came on three pointers, one each from Bourke and Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School).

·         After Pace fought back to a 12 point deficit with just under five minutes remaining, the Chargers went on a 13-2 run to end the half with a 52-29 halftime lead, the largest of the season for the visitors. Part of that late half run for New Haven was 11 unanswered point for the Chargers while Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) closed out the first half scoring with a three pointer thanks to an assist from Tommy Hunt (Smithfield, R.I./St. Andrew's).

·         Bourke closed out the first half leading all scorers with 21 points as he finished the first 20 minutes shooting 70 percent from the field, making seven of 10 field goals including five three pointers in eight attempts.

·         As a team, New Haven shot 73.1 percent in the first half, making all but seven of their 26 total field goal attempts, including nine from behind the three point arc. The Chargers also converted all but one of their six trips to the free throw line and finished with a 19-12 advantage in the battle of the boards.

·         The Chargers also combined for 12 assists on their 19 field goals with Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) leading the way with four.

SECOND HALF NOTES

·         Coming out of the intermission, the Setters opened the half on a 10-2 run but New Haven wasn't going to rest as they broke that momentum with back-to-back three pointers from Hunt and Bourke that in a matter of 39 seconds extended New Haven's lead back over 20 points, 60-39, with 16:12 remaining.

·         Those two buckets from outside the arc for the Chargers began a stretch where the Blue and Gold had seven of eight field goals come from beyond the three point arc. Of the seven three pointers, Bourke contributed a trio while Kane added two and Hunt and Upchurch each drained one.

·         With just under four minutes remaining, the Chargers combined to score five straight points, all of which came at the free throw line with those five points pushing the New Haven lead back to its largest of the game of 23, 91-68.

·         The Chargers kept the pressure on to the final buzzer, outscoring the Setters 7-1 over the final 2:29 of the game. Included in those seven points was the first career three pointer for freshman Darius Roundtree (Plainfield, N.J./The Patrick School) as he connected with Joseph Doganiero (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro) for the long ball.

·         Bourke again led all New Haven scorers in the half as he finished with four points on a 4-of-6 shooting effort with all four field goals from outside the three point arc. Kane followed him with eight points as he and Vasic each finished 2-for-2 from the field with both of Kane's field goals from outside the arc.

·         As a team, the Chargers made 13 field goals in 19 attempts for a 68.4 percent shooting effort, including matching their first half output with nine three points which came on 15 attempts. New Haven also finished 11-of-13 at the free throw line.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·         The 35 points for Bourke is a season-high for all players and the second time in his career he has scored 30 or more in a single game. The 11 field goals and nine three point field goals for Bourke also set career-bests for the sophomore.

·         The 18 three pointers for New Haven is the most for a New Haven team since January 13 when they finished with 15 against Saint Michael's. Additionally, Bourke finished one shy of double digit three pointers which would have been the first time since 2010 that a single player hit 10 or more.

·         The Chargers 98 points is the first time that a New Haven team has scored 90 or more since December 31, 2011 when the Chargers defeated Molloy 90-62. If New Haven had eclipsed the century mark, it would have been the first time since the 2003-04 season.

·         The 64.3 percent (18-of-28) effort from New Haven beyond the three point arc is the first time a New haven team has shot better than 50 percent from long range since finishing 10-of-20 against East Stroudsburg on December 29, 2015.

·         The 32-23 rebounding edge for the Chargers is the 16th time this season that New Haven has outrebounded its opponent and the 10th time they have won a game when outrebounding the opposition.

NEXT ON TAP
The Chargers will close out the regular season visiting the Le Moyne Dolphins on Tuesday evening in Syracuse. Tip off as the Blue and Gold look for a second straight home-and-home sweep is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.