WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Behind a career night from sophomore guard Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech), the University of New Haven men's basketball team (15-9 overall) picked up a huge regional victory on Tuesday night scoring an 85-80 overtime decision over the visiting Bloomfield Bears. Rowland led all scorers on the night with a career-high 26 points, finishing 10-of-19 from the field, which included four three-point field goals. He also pulled in eight boards and picked off three steals.

Rowland was one of two Chargers to finish with 20-plus as senior point guard Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) returned to the 20-point club for the team-leading 14th time with 22 points. Upchurch closed out the night with a 62 percent shooting effort, connecting on 9-of-14 overall, including matching Rowland's three long range buckets.

Rounding out New Haven's leaders was sophomore Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) who closed out his third double double of the season with a season-best 18 points and 11 rebounds. Felizor's individual shooting led the Chargers on the night as he missed just two of his nine field goal attempts, while he also added four points at the free throw line.

As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 50-percent from the field, making 34 field goals in 68 attempts. Included were nine three pointers, while the Chargers finished 8-of-11 at the free throw line, most importantly going 4-of-4 at the line in the final 16 seconds over the overtime period. The Chargers also held a 39-31 rebounding advantage led by Felizor's 11 boards. Among the Chargers 39 rebounds were 11 that came off the offensive glass, which they converted into a season-high 17 second chance points.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·         New Haven would open up the scoring with a three pointer, the first of three within the first six minutes of action. That three pointer helped lead to an early 8-3 lead thanks to a 5-0 run that began with a hammer from Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) and concluded with a second-chance three pointer from Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School).

·         After Bloomfield pulled their deficit to a single point at 16-15 New Haven, the Chargers rallied again, this time with 10 unanswered that resulted in the first double digit lead of the night, 26-15. The final eight points in the run all came from Sophomore Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) who came off the bench to provide the spark.

·         The Bears replied to that deficit by scoring 13 of the next 15 points to tie the game at 28. Rowland would put an end to that Bloomfield rally as he broke into double figures with a layup. From that point on, New Haven would have an answer to every Bloomfield basket, never finding itself in a deficit, despite four ties in the final four minutes.

·         The Chargers would muster the final two baskets of the half with layups from Felizor and Rowland providing the final margin at the break, 40-36.

·         Rowland would lead all scorers in the opening half, coming off the bench to net 15 points while shooting 66.7 percent from the field (6-of-9). Included in his six baskets were a pair of three point field goals.

·         Joining Rowland in leading New Haven was Felizor and Upchurch who each finished with 10 points. The pair combined to shoot 8-of-11 from the field, with Upchurch draining a pair of three pointers.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·         After trading baskets for the first four minutes of the half, the Bears would mount their first rally of the night, stringing together nine straight points that resulted in their second lead of the game and their largest a 50-45.

·         New Haven responded to that run by scoring seven of the next nine points to tie the score at 52 thanks to another long range bucket from Rowland. The first four points that mix for the Chargers all came inside the paint from Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia).

·         Neither team would lead by more than four over the final 11 minutes of the second half with a total of four ties and a six lead changes during that stretch. The final stalemate came with 2:45 remaining as Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) sank a three pointer off a feed from Felizor that knotted the game at 70. Neither team would score over the final 165 seconds, sending New Haven to its second overtime battle of the season.

·         Upchurch led New Haven in the second half, finishing with 10 points on a 4-of-7 shooting effort from the field. Included were a pair of three pointers, while he also dished out two assists and picked off three steals.

·         Vasic capped off his second half with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Rowland chipped in a half dozen, all of which came from beyond the three point arc.

OVERTIME HIGHLIGHTS

·         Just as he did to end the second half scoring, Rowland opened up the extra frame with a layup just 11 seconds into overtime thanks to Felizor's assistance.

·         The Bears responded by scoring the next five points all from Keith Washington who would also hit a three pointer with 3:15 remaining. That three pointer from Washington would be the last for Bloomfield until the final 20 seconds, during which time New Haven built an unsurmountable lead using a 7-0 rally.

·         Trailing by four with 24 seconds remaining, the Bears broke a more than three minute drought with a layup by Dontay Julius, however New Haven would capitalize at the line going 4-of-4 down the stretch to secure the regional victory.

UP NEXT
New Haven caps off its 12-game regular season home schedule on Saturday when they host the American International Yellow Jackets for a Southwest Division match-up. Tip-off against the Yellow Jackets is slated for 3:30 p.m. following the women's game. Prior to the game, the Chargers will honor four seniors; Danny Upchurch (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic), Joseph Doganiero (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro), Mihailo Vasic (Novi Sad, Serbia) and Tommy Hunt (Smithfield, R.I./St. Andrew's).