North Andover, Mass. – The University of New Haven men's basketball team (15-13, 9-11 NE10) cruised to a Northeast-10 Conference Championship opening round victory over the No. 4 seed from the Northeast Division Merrimack 84-58, the largest margin of victory in a single game this season.

Leading the Chargers on the night was sophomore Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) who finished with 21 points, his fourth game of the season in double figures. For the night, Bourke finished 6-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Finishing just behind Bourke in leading the way was Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who scored 20 points, including a perfect performance in the second half as he finished 3-of-3 from the field and 5-of-5 at the line in that half alone.

Overall, five Chargers finished in double figures with Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) (13 points), Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) (12) and Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) (10) each joining Bourke and Bailey among the leaders. As a team, the Blue and Gold finished the night shooting 46.7 percent from the field on 28-of-60. The best shooting of the night for New Haven came in the second half where the converted 14-of-26 attempts for 53.8 percent. Among the Chargers 28 field goals were nine from outside the arc, while New Haven also finished 13-of-16 at the free throw line (86.4 percent).

The Chargers also won the battle of the boards with a 38-37 advantage led by Felizor who pulled in nine, one shy of his eighth double double. Overall, eight different players grabbed at least on rebound. The Chargers also combined for 19 turnovers among their 28 baskets with Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) leading the team with eight.

FIRST HALF NOTES

·         Junior Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) converted the Chargers first two buckets of the game as New Haven opened the night with a 4-0 lead. The Blue and Gold would go on to make five of their first eight shots en route to a 21-14 lead thanks to a three pointer, the second of game for Michael Bourke (South Orange, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton).

·         Bourke opened the night perfect from the field hitting his first two field goal attempts, both from outside the arc, while also hitting 3-of-3 at the free throw line.

·         Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) came off the bench to enhance the outside shooting when he made his first attempt from long range giving the Chargers their largest lead of the half 26-18. Merrimack would respond by scoring five unanswered before Bailey broke the momentum again with his second from outside the arc, giving New Haven a 29-23 lead.

·         Following a jumper with 6:29 remaining for the Warriors, New Haven's defense held Merrimack to just two points the remainder of the half, closing out the first on an 8-0 run. During that stretch, the Warriors made just one of their eight field goal attempts and missed both attempts in one trip to the line.  

·         The Chargers first double digit lead of the half came courtesy of Bailey's third triple of the night, while a jumper from Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) matched that advantage. Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) provided the final margin at the break as he banked in a shot at the buzzer following a Merrimack turnover.  

·         Bailey, Bourke and Vasic all finished the half with a team-high nine points, with Vasic leading the shooting efforts making 4-of-5 attempts from the field. Bourke and Bailey combined to score all five of the Chargers first half three pointers.  

·         As a team, New Haven shot 41.2 percent from the field making 14-of-34 attempts overall. The five three pointers came on 14 total attempts for a 35.7 percent average while the Chargers finished perfect in six attempts at the line.

·         Defensively, the Blue and Gold forced Merrimack into seven turnovers and scored 10 points off of those miscues. On the other end, the Chargers combined for 11 assists in the 14 first half baskets, led by Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) who dished out five in the opening period.

SECOND HALF NOTES

·         New Haven again came out scoring the first points, this time the first five of the period with Felizor draining the first on a layup and Kane sinking the first basket from outside the arc of the half. That early 5-0 run for the Blue and Gold gave the visitors a 44-27 lead, the largest of the game to that point.

·         Kane would again strike out long range, pushing him into double figures with 12 points. This time he partnered with a Bourke jumper to complete another 5-0 run, leading to a 51-37 lead with 13:39 to play.

·         Following a layup with 10:30 remaining in the game for the Warriors, New Haven offense again took over, holding the Warriors to one point over the next five-plus minutes. During that same stretch, the Chargers lit up for 17 points to extend their lead to the largest of the night 74-45.

·         Included in that run for New Haven were a pair of three pointers from Bourke and five points from Bailey, the first three on a 3-for-3 trip to the line and the last two on a fast break layup off a steal by Bourke at the other end.

·         Back-to-back buckets from Upchurch and Bailey would provide New Haven's largest lead of the night, 78-49 with just over three minutes to play.

·         Bourke and Bailey again led the way for the half, finishing with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Bourke finished the second half making 4-of-6 from the field, including a pair of three pointers while he also converted both of his attempts from the free throw line. Bailey closed out the second half perfect from the field in three attempts while also sinking all five of his free throw attempts.

·         As a team, New Haven shot 53.8 percent from the field in the second half, making 14-of-26 attempts, including four three pointers. The Chargers also connected on 13-of-16 from the free throw line.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·         New Haven's 26 point margin of victory is its largest of the season while combined over its last two wins, New Haven has won by a combined 50 points.

·         The 20 point performances for both Bourke and Bailey is the first time this season two players have scored 20 or more in the same game.

·         New Haven advances to the NE10 Quarterfinals for the fourth time in the history of the program.

NEXT ON TAP
The Chargers advance to the quarterfinal round of the NE10 Championship and are set to take on the top seed from the Southwest Division, Le Moyne. The quarterfinal match-up is scheduled for Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at Ted Grant Court. New Haven and Le Moyne split the regular season home-and-home schedule with each team winning on its home court.