WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Four starters in double figures and a 51 percent shooting effort lifts the University of New Haven men's basketball team (8-4) to a commanding 76-59 win over No. 17/18 Saint Thomas Aquinas (11-2) on Saturday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium. Leading the Blue and Gold on the afternoon was junior guard Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who compiled his fourth 25+ point game, shooting 9-of-14 from the field including a pair of three pointers and a 5-of-6 performance at the free throw line.
Bailey was one of four players to finish in double figures, all part of the starting five. Joining him was junior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) who closed out the game one rebound shy of a double double with 13 points and nine boards. Additionally, redshirt sophomore Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) chipped in a dozen points and junior Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) followed with 10 points. Rowland also led New Haven with five assists, part of 14 total among the 26 total field goals.
As a team, New Haven capped off the afternoon shooting 51.0 percent from the field with the 26 field goals coming on 51 attempts. The Chargers opened up as much as a 15 point lead in the opening half, partly due to an impressive 55.2 percent first half shooting (16-of-29), while also hitting half of their 12 attempts from beyond the arc in the opening frame. For the game, New Haven finished with seven three pointers in 18 attempts.
Individually, Bailey's 25 points came on a 9-of-14 shooting effort, while Kane followed him connecting on 5-of-11 from the field. In addition to Bailey's two three pointers, Rowland finished with a pair while redshirt freshman Ross Jones II (Edgewood, Md./Friends School) led the team with a trio of three pointers on four attempts, closing out the contest with a career-high nine points. The majority of Felizor's points came at the free throw line as the post player finished a perfect 7-of-7 at the line. His nine rebounds also led the Chargers who finished with a 33-29 margin in the battle of the boards.
Defensively, New Haven held STAC 22 points under its 81.4 points per game average, while the win broke a six-game win streak and was just the second loss of the season for the Spartans. Additionally, New Haven held STAC to 37.7 percent shooting, including just 31.6 percent from outside the arc.
Neither team could must a basket in their first possessions of the game, however the Spartans would strike first with a jumper from Jamar Sudan. New Haven followed that with a fast break three pointer for the first and only lead change of the afternoon as it never looked back from that point. After STAC cut the lead to a single point at 5-4, the Chargers rattled off six straight points to build a seven point advantage and then extended that into double digits with a six of the next eight points for a 17-6 lead. All six of the points in the second part of that rally came from beyond the three point arc courtesy of Bailey and Jones.
The Chargers largest lead in the opening half came with just over seven minutes remaining when Felizor connected on a pair of attempts at the free throw line. STAC continued to battle the remainder of the half, eventually pulling back within a single digit deficit, but could never must a rally that would cut the lead into striking distance. Bailey would cap off the opening half with a layup nearly 90 seconds before the intermission, eventually leading to a 12 points lead at the break, 44-32. That final basket of the half gave him a game-high 12 points heading into the locker room.
Coming out of the intermission, the Spartans would strike first again, but New Haven quickly answered, building its lead back to 14 just 61 seconds into the action thanks to a steal from Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J. /Trenton Catholic Academy) who provided the assist for Rowland for the fast break layup. Another 6-0 run for the Chargers nearing the midway points of the half provided the first 20 point lead of the contest, 61-41, with that margin coming thanks to a layup from Bailey off a feed from Rowland.
New Haven's largest lead of the game came with just shy of nine minutes remaining following two straight trips to the free throw line for Felizor. Also leading to the 65-44 lead for the Chargers was a more than two minute scoring drought for the Spartans which they eventually broke on a three pointer from Demetre Roberts. The Spartans would cut the lead down to 15 over the final eight minutes of the game, but could never break back into single digits as the Chargers held STAC to a season-low in the scoring column.
Today's game was the final for New Haven before opening cross-divisional play in the Northeast-10 on Wednesday night in a doubleheader with the women's team at Saint Anselm. The Chargers first of two trips remaining to the Granite State will include a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against the Hawks, following the women's game. Fans who are unable to attend the game can follow the action online with live video on NE10 Now and live stats. Links are available on NewHavenChargers.com.
