WEST HAVEN, Conn. – A big defensive stop in the final seconds and a pair of free throws from redshirt sophomore Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) secured the University of New Haven men's basketball teams fourth straight victory 74-70 over the visiting Concordia Clippers.
Four of the Chargers five starters finished in double figures led by junior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who completed his third-straight game in double figures and his first surpassing the 20 point plateau with 21 points on 7-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. Joining Bailey was juniors Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) with 13 points and Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) with 11 points while Rowland rounded out the leaders with 10.
Felizor finished his night one rebound shy of a double double as he also led the team with a 6-of-8 shooting effort from the field. Felizor's nine rebounds were part of 36 total for the Blue and Gold who trailed in the rebounding battle 41-36. In addition to his 10 points, Rowland also led the team with a career-high seven assists while adding six rebounds to his credit.
As a team, New Haven finished the night shooting 45.8 percent from the field, connecting on 27 field goals in 59 attempts. Among the 27 field goals were nine from outside the three point arc, while the Chargers also finished 11-of-18 from the free throw line.
Both teams took care of the rock with the two squads combining for just 16 total turnovers, with the Chargers forcing Concordia into nine miscues. From those nine turnovers, New Haven net 12 points, leading the way in points off turnovers, 12-7.
New Haven held the lead for all but 36 seconds in the first half, opening up the game with the first five points on layups from Bailey and Felizor and a 1-of-2 trip to the line from Kane. After allowing Concordia to respond with their first lead of the night, the Chargers responded by rattling off seven unanswered points for a 12-6 lead and never looked back for the remainder of the opening half. Included in that run was five straight points from Bailey, including the first shot of the night from long range for the Blue and Gold.
The largest lead of the half for New Haven came in the final three minutes when the Chargers answered a dunk from Concordia's Alex White with back-to-back baskets from Felizor, a jumper and a three pointer. That mini 5-0 run led to a 38-30 New Haven lead with the final margin at the intermission a six point lead for the Chargers, 38-32. Bailey would score 16 of his 21 points in the opening half as he finished 7-of-14 from the field with a pair of treys.
Coming out of the break, Concordia made it interesting as they outscored the Chargers 16-8 in the first five-plus minutes, taking a 48-46 lead with 14:24 remaining. The Chargers answered by scoring five unanswered on a three pointer from Kane and a pair of free throws from Bailey.
The final lead for Concordia came with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, while New Haven answered that with a three pointer from Kian Dalyrimple (Dix Hills, N.Y.), one of two in the game for the rookie. The Chargers quickly rebuilt their lead back to seven with five minutes to play before Concordia tried to make it interesting again in the final minute of action.
After cutting the lead to two with 29 seconds to play, Concordia forced a New Haven turnover but solid defense led to a missed three pointer with five seconds remaining as the Blue and Gold tracked down the rebounds. Concordia was eventually forced to send Rowland to the line where he was 2-for-2 with two seconds remaining to ice the victory.
New Haven will return to NE10 play on Wednesday (Nov. 28) evening when they travel across town for a battle with rival Southern Connecticut State University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.
