PHOTO GALLERY
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – For the second time this season, junior guard Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) finished with a career-high in scoring, leading the University of New Haven men's basketball team (5-4) with 29 points in an 81-69 loss to the visiting Goldey-Beacom Lightning (4-5) in the final game before the Holiday break. In addition to his 29 points, Bailey matched his career-best with seven rebounds, while dishing out seven assists, a second career-high on the night.
Overall, Bailey was one of three Chargers in double figures as Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) and Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) each joined him with 11 points apiece. All told, the Chargers starting five accounted for all but eight of the 69 points on the night, while as a team, New Haven shot an even 50 percent from the field with 25 field goals in 50 attempts.
After struggling from the field in the opening half (33.3 percent), the Chargers rebounded in the second period, connecting on 18-of-29 field goal attempts for a 62.1 percent average, with seven of the 18 total buckets in the second half coming from outside the three point arc. New Haven outscored the Lightning 49-40 in the second half, but couldn't rebound from their halftime deficit.
Bailey's 29 points came on 10-of-17 shooting on the night with four of those buckets coming from long range. He was also a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Among all scorers, Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) led the shooting efforts, connecting on all but one of his four attempts, with one of those from outside the three point arc. Overall, Felizor finished with eight points, while pulling down five boards.
The seven rebounds from Bailey and the five rebounds for Felizor led the Chargers who closed out the game with a 32-23 advantage in the battle of the boards. New Haven also led in the paint where they posted a 24-16 advantage, while also holding a 14-8 lead in second chance points and 18-8 lead in fast break points. The 14 second chance points for New Haven came on 10 offensive rebounds.
The Lightning opened up the game scoring the first five points before a jumper from Bailey off a feed from Felizor broke up the scoreless drought for New Haven. Despite, the Chargers cutting their early deficit to a single point at 5-4, Goldey-Beacom wasn't going to let up, opening up its first double digit lead five minutes later courtesy of a three pointer from Tevin Service.
New Haven managed to cut its deficit into single digits on a pair of occasions over the remainder of the half. However, the Lightning pushed their lead back to as much as 22 with just under two minutes before the break, while taking a 41-20 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
After Goldey-Beacom scored the first points of the second half to gain its largest lead of the game, 43-20, New Haven began to chip into the deficit, at one point using a 12-0 run to pull within striking distance. That rally cut what at the time was a 20-point lead for the Lightning into single digits courtesy of a fast break dunk from Bailey that made it an eight point game, 48-40.
The teams would trade the next two baskets before Goldey-Beacom regained as much as a 17 point lead, never relinquishing the double digit advantage over the remainder of the game.
New Haven will return to the court just once more in the calendar year when they close out a more than two week break on December 30 with a visit to the Garden State for a date with the Bloomfield Bears. Tip-off at Bloomfield College Gym is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Fans unable to attend the game can find links for live video and live stats on NewHavenChargers.com.
