WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven men's basketball team (11-7, 8-5 NE10) picked up its third-straight home victory on Tuesday night, knocking off the Franklin Pierce Ravens by a 74-63 margin. Leading the Chargers for the second-straight game was sophomore Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) who finished with a career-high 19 points, which included an impressive 5-of-6 performance from distance.
Rowland was one of three player in double figures, while eight different Chargers contributed to the offense in what was the fifth victory in the last six games. Following on Rowland's heels was senior point guard Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) who finished with 18 points, including a perfect night at the free throw line where he was 6-of-6. Rounding out the leaders was sophomore Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who chipped in 10 points.
As a team, New Haven finished the night shooting 51.9 percent (28-of-54), the fifth time this season the Chargers have shot 50-percent or better. Individually, Rowland led the home team with a 64-percent performance, connecting on seven field goals in 11 attempts, including his career-best five three pointers. Upchurch also led New Haven with eight assists.
The Blue and Gold also led the way in the battle of the boards with a 33-28 advantage, led by sophomore Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) who pulled down eight. Junior Najee Larcher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) also finished among the leaders with seven boards, while eight different players finished with at least one rebound.
FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS
· Franklin Pierce opened up the night scoring the first five points of the game and held that lead for more than 10 minutes before an 8-0 run for the Chargers resulted in a lead change and an eventual 23-18 lead with 6:21 to play. Rowland kicked off that rally with his third three pointer of the night, while Felizor wrapped up with an old-fashioned three point play.
· The Chargers would open up as much as a six point lead over the final five minutes of the half on three occasions, the last of which came on an Upchurch basket from downtown that provided a 32-26 advantage.
· Despite the Ravens scoring the final points of the half, New Haven took a 32-28 lead into the intermission, led by Rowland who scored nine points, all from outside the arc. Bailey followed him with six first half points.
SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS
· After a back-and-forth battle for the first four minutes of the second half, the Ravens rattled off 11 unanswered points which forced the Chargers to call for time. Following that break, New Haven went on their own rally, matching Franklin Pierce's 11 points with 14. That resulted in the Chargers largest lead to that point 53-44.
· Down the stretch, Franklin Pierce was able to cut its deficit to as little as five, but the Chargers weren't going to rest. The Ravens also couldn't rely on sending New Haven to the line in the final minutes, without losing valuable time following to get into the bonus.
· The largest lead of the night for New Haven came on a pair of occasions, both from Upchurch. The first, with 5:34 remaining was courtesy of a 2-for-2 effort at the line that concluded a 5-0 rally and resulted in a 66-54 lead. The final time came with just under two minutes remaining when he scored on a pull-up jumper as the shot clock expired to extend the lead to 70-58.
· Upchurch led the Chargers in the second half, when he finished with 13 of his 18 total points. The point guard closed out the half shooting 50-percent, making 4-of-8 field goals, while also adding four points in as many attempts at the free throw line.
· Rowland also finished in double figures during the final 20 minutes as he closed out the half with 10 points, missing just two of his six field goal attempts, while also finishing a perfect 2-of-2 from outside the arc.
UP NEXT
The Chargers will play their next two games on the road with the first the final meeting against the Northeast Division of the NE10 as they travel to Southern New Hampshire for a date with the Penmen. The game, which will be aired live on Fox College Sports, is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. opening tip.
