WEST HAVEN, Conn. – It came down to 10 free throws in the final 38 seconds as the University of New Haven men's basketball team won its third-straight game and broke a four-game skid against the Bentley Falcons with an 87-84 victory at Charger Gymnasium. Leading the Blue and Gold on the day was senior Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) and sophomore Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who finished with 25 and 24 points respectively.

Upchurch led four New Haven players in double figures with his 25 points, while came on 8-of-14 from the field including four three pointers while he also added five points at the free throw line. Bailey finished his second 20-plus game of the season, making 6-of-13 from the field, including a trio of three pointers while he finished perfect at the free throw line in nine attempts.

Rounding out the leading scorers for the Chargers was sophomores Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) and Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) who finished with 15 and 12 points respectively. Among all the leading scorers, Felizor led the Chargers, shooting 5-of-7 from the field, while also pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Kane finished the day making four of his seven field goal attempts, while also connecting on all six of his free throw attempts.

As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 48.3 percent overall, making 28 field goals in 58 attempts. Among the 28 total field goals were nine from long distance, while the Chargers converted a season-high 22 free throws, which came on a season-high 28 attempts (78.6 percent). The Blue and Gold also combined to outrebound the Falcons by a 36-32 margin.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·         After surrendering the opening bucket of the game to the Falcons, the Chargers went on a 10-0 run to gain a seven point, 10-3, advantage just over three minutes into the action. Included in the early New Haven rally was back-to-back three pointers from Upchurch, while Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) opened up the run with back-to-back layups.

·         The Chargers would maintain that lead for the next eight-plus minutes, building up as much as a nine-point lead, 18-9, with 13:40 remaining in the half. That lead came courtesy of eight straight points for the Blue and Gold with the first six from Bailey who drained a three pointer before being fouled outside the arc and calmly converting the three attempts at the line.

·         Over the final eight minutes of the half the two teams would manage four stalemates, including back-to-back ties in the final two minutes when the teams traded three pointers from New Haven's Joseph Doganiero (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro) and Bentley's Seth Stankiewicz.

·         Bentley would end the half with a slim 39-38 advantage, with Jordan Mello-Klein converting one of two free throw attempts with 33 seconds remaining for the final points of the period.

·         Bailed led all scorers in the first half as he finished with 14 points, the only player in double figures. His 14 points came on a 3-of-6 shooting effort with all three buckets outside the arc, while he was also a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Upchurch and Felizor followed Bailey with eight and seven points, respectively.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·         After again allowing Bentley to score the first points of the period, the Chargers mounted another rally, this one a nine-point run that resulted in a 47-41 New Haven lead with 15:03 to play. Bentley wouldn't surrender, putting together a run of its own as they would score the next seven points before Kane broke up the momentum with a jumper at the 13:30 mark.

·         After trading the next two baskets, the Chargers would build a 55-50 lead and never looked back from that advantage, leading for the final 12:26 of the contest.

·         Bentley would manage to pull within a single point on just one occasion over the final 12 minutes of the game, that coming at the midway point of the second half when Zach Gilpin converted a three point attempts.

·         New Haven would muster the only double digit lead of the evening with 2:11 remaining in the game when Bailey capped off a 7-0 Charger run that resulted in a 74-64 lead.

·         That layup from Bailey would turn out to be the final field goal of the contest for the Chargers as New Haven would score its final 13 points of the night all at the free throw line. All combined, the two teams would take 25 total free throw attempts in the final two minutes. During that stretch, the Chargers relied on perfect performances at the line from Kane (six attempts) and Bailey (four attempts).

·         Three different players would muster double figures in the second half for New Haven with Upchurch leading the way with 17 points. He finished the half shooting 5-of-9 from the field with a pair of free throws, while making half of his 10 free throw attempts. Kane (15) and Bailey (10) joined him in leading the Blue and Gold.

UP NEXT
New Haven remains home for a second-straight game when they host the Merrimack Warriors for a mid-week battle on Wednesday, January 17. After dropping a three-point decision to the Warriors in the regular season, the Chargers rebounded for a convincing 84-58 victory at Hammel Court to open NE10 postseason play.