WALTHAM, Mass. – The University of New Haven men's basketball team scored a season-high 92 points to take down No. 18/24 Bentley 92-80 on the road on Saturday. Junior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) scored a team-high 26 points and added seven rebounds on 9-of-17 from the field. Redshirt sophomore Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) scored a season-high 21 points and was 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. Freshman Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J. /Trenton Catholic Academy) (13) and junior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) (11) also scored in double figures for New Haven, while adding a game- and season-best 15 rebounds while shooting 5-of-7 from the field.
As a team the Chargers (11-5, 6-4 NE10) shot a hot 54.1 percent from the field and tied their season-best from three-point range at 50 percent (10-for-20). In addition to shooting well from the outside, New Haven also outscored the Falcons (15-3, 8-3 NE10) 44-32 in the paint and outrebounded Bentley 39-25.
The upset was the Chargers second victory this season over a team ranked nationally in the top 25 of either the D2SIDA or NABC poll, after previously besting Saint Thomas Aquinas earlier in January.
FIRST HALF
· Bailey and Rowland hit back-to-back triples to get New Haven on the board and give them a 6-5 lead just over two minutes in. Rowland connected again from downtown on his next trip to extend the run to 9-0, giving New Haven an early four-point cushion.
· Lane used a layup underneath to grow the edge to 15-7, forcing a Bentley timeout at 14:54.
· Najee Larcher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) answered a Bailey basket with a turnaround jumper of his own, Bailey got to the line and hit a pair of free throws, and Rowland hit his third triple of the opening half to give the Chargers a 22-11 lead at the 12:05 mark.
· The Chargers grew the lead to a half-high 13 points on three occasions, including after a three-pointer by Rowland and then again on the ensuing possession off a Bailey layup with at 7:36 to make it 35-22.
· Bentley then caught fire from the outside, rattling off a 17-7 run, using a Ryan Raymond triple to get within 42-39 with 2:37 remaining.
· Archer answered by completing a three-point play at the line, and Ross Jones II (Edgewood, Md./Friends School) answered from long range to grow the edge back to nine with one minute to go.
· Richmond scored five unanswered for the Falcons to cut the Chargers' lead to 48-44 going into the locker room.
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor in the opening half, with New Haven connecting on 8-of-15 from downtown. Rowland had 17 points off five triples in the opening 20 minutes, while Bentley's Ryan Richmond scored 24 of his game-high 33 points through the opening 20 minutes.
SECOND HALF
· Felizor got the Chargers off on the right foot in the second half by getting a tip-in bucket off the miss and Rowland followed with a driving bucket to make it 52-44.
· Lane made it 57-44 with his first basket from the outside.
· After Bentley shrunk the lead to four, Felizor came away with a putback slam, then Kane Jr. followed with a jumper near the foul line to keep the New Haven lead at six, 61-55 with 14:09 left.
· New Haven took control once again after having its lead cut to three, scoring eight unanswered to take a 69-58 lead and force a Bentley timeout with 9:29 left.
· Bailey took a kick out pass near midcourt, drove the lane and put it in off the glass, then had another driving layup moments later to get the lead back to seven, 65-58.
· Baily added two more from the line and Lane followed with a layup to make the lead 11.
· Both teams traded hoops with New Haven growing its lead to 13 on multiple occasions, with Kane. Jr. putting in two from the stripe to make it 82-68 with 3:19 left.
· Bailey found Felizor up ahead for a breakaway lay in to beat the press and put the game on ice at 84-71 at the 1:45 mark.
· The Chargers held off the Falcons with six free throws and a series of stops over the final 1:28.
The Chargers will hit the road once again on Wednesday for a conference showdown at Merrimack. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. on NE10 NOW.
