GAME DAY INFORMATION   DATE: December 15, 2019 LOCATION: Charger Gym | West Haven, Conn.   GAME DAY LINKS   LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

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THE FIRST LOOK
New Haven looks to keep the momentum going when they take to the court one final time before the holiday break, welcoming the Holy Family Tigers to Charger Gym for a non-conference battle.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• New Haven and Holy Family meet for just the second time in program history with both of those meetings under the leadership of 10th year head coach Ted Hotaling.
• The first meeting between the NE10 and CACC foes came as the season opener in 2013-14 with the Tigers scoring a 56-43 decision on their home court.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
The Chargers have relied on the returning experience of seniors Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) and Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) and redshirt junior Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) who combined have provided over 63% of the overall scoring for the season. Leading the way is Bailey who is averaging 19.5 points per game and has scored 25+ in each of the last four games, including a season-high of 31 against Southern Connecticut. Following Bailey is Felizor who averaged a double double last week, increasing his scoring total to 124 points per game and his team-leading rebounding average to 8.0 per game. Rounding out the three leaders is Rowland who adds 11.0 points per game while leading the team with 38 assists including seven in each of the last three games, all tying his career-high.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Winners in four of its last five games, Holy Family enters Sunday's game with a 5-5 overall record and a 2-0 mark in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action. The most recent action comes in the form of a 74-62 road win at Wilmington. Under the direction of first year head coach Ryan Haigh, the Tigers are currently led by senior forward Brenden Aughburns who is one of five players averaging double figures with a team-high 18.0 ppg. For the season, Aughburns is shooting a .58% clip, connecting on 79-of-137 attempts with the majority of those buckets coming inside of the three point arc. Following the post player is junior guard Brendan Hoban who is averaging 13.7 ppg, while he and Aughburns are the only players to start all 10 games.

UP NEXT
The Chargers will return to action once more before the end of the calendar year when they play on New Year's Eve in Philadelphia, Pa. That game will pith the Blue and Gold against another CACC opponent, Jefferson. Opening tip off at the Gallagher Center is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The New Haven men's basketball team opened the 2013-14 season suffering a 56-43 loss to Holy Family University. Senior guard Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) led all scorers with 22 points off 5-of-13 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) recorded a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Anderson went 7-of-17 from the floor and garnered five offensive boards. The Chargers struggled shooting as the Tigers' defense held them to 26 percent from the floor and 11.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Tigers held a 20-0 advantage in points off the bench, while leading 9-3 in second chance points. Points in the paint were all knotted up at 18-18.

LAST TIME OUT
Led by 26 points from senior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) and 18 points from senior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown), the men's basketball team held off American International by a score of 65-54 on Tuesday night. New Haven outscored the Yellow Jackets 30-24 in the paint and held a 34-26 edge on the boards. Felizor had a game-high nine rebounds and Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) added a career-high eight boards. Darius Roundtree (Plainfield, N.J./The Patrick School) pulled in seven rebounds while Bailey had five rebounds and connected on five three-pointers on the offensive end. New Haven finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (24-for-56) overall and 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from three-point range, and held AIC to 6-for-19 from beyond the arc.

HONOR ROLL
In addition to its Player and Rookie of the Week awards, the Northeast-10 Conference also doles out Honor Roll accolades to some of the best performances from the week prior. So far this season, Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) has earned the distinction twice while he is joined by classmate Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) who earned the honor once.
2019-20 NE10 Honor Roll Recipients
Nov. 25 :: Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School)
Dec. 09 :: Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School)
Dec. 09 :: Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown)

THREE POINT THREAT
With the return of the top two three point shooters from a season ago, New Haven is poised to build on the momentum of a school record 267 three point field goals last season. It was the second straight year the Chargers hit a school record from long range as they did so with 239 during the 2017-18 campaign. Leading New Haven into the new season will be Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) (68) and Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) (66) who combined for half of the total three pointers from last season. The biggest loss from outside the arc comes in the form of Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) who finished with 46 three pointers. Through the first eight games, the Chargers have converted 75 three pointers, if they were to maintain their current average for the remainder of the regular season the Chargers would stand at 244 three pointers made. 

TIGHTENING THE BELT
Since returning from the Sunshine State, head coach Ted Hotaling may have hit the point in the season where he has tightened the belt on his rotation, relying on just seven players total against the last three opponents. Additionally, all 71 points against SCSU and all 65 points against American International came from the starting five, while at least two players have played the entire 40 minutes in each of the last three outings.

MOVIN' ON UP
Senior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) became the 35th player in program history to hit the 1,000 career point plateau as part of a career-high 32-point night against crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State University on February 6, 2019. After opening the season rounding out the top 25 on the career scoring list, Bailey will continue to quickly ascend the ranks. He currently stands 15 points shy of passing Bill Jeffress (1984-88) for 16th all-time, and needs just 43 points to jump two positions and join the top 15 all-time, with that spot currently held by Greg Spicer (1982-86) with 1,382 points.

MILESTONE MAN
Senior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) is on par to become the first player since Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) (2011-15) to enter a pair of prestigious lists at New Haven; the 500 Rebound and 1,000 Point clubs. Last season, Felizor broke into the 500 rebound club and has since moved up to 18th all-time. In the hunt for 1,000, Felizor currently stands 173 points shy of breaking the plateau, where he would become the 36th player to do so. Upon completing that feat, Felizor would be the 18th player all-time to join both the 500 rebound and 1,000 point club.

DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Senior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) entered another top-10 in program history in the early part of the season when he broke in among the top three point shooters at New Haven. He currently stands eighth in program history in three pointers made with 164 and with just 16 more would break into the top-five all-time. Extended beyond that, Bailey has the ability to close out his career third all-time in three pointers made which is currently held by both Alberto Alberdi (1998-03) and Gary Battle (1987-91) who each had 190 three pointers to their credit.

LITERACY MATTERS
For the fourth straight season, the New Haven men's basketball team will partner with Coaching for Literacy to promote the #Fight4Literacy initiative on February 1 when they host Franklin Pierce. New Haven remains the only Division II program to partner with Coaching for Literacy, a program whose goal is to promote childhood reading in local communities. In addition to raising awareness on February 1, the Chargers will offer a special admission opportunity that afternoon-Any fan who brings a new or gently used book to the game will receive complimentary admission. All books collected will then be donated to the West Haven Read to Grow program.

FUTURE FOAL
Tenth year head coach Ted Hotaling announced the commitment of one player during the early signing period in November, a 6-2 forward out of Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth, N.J., Jordan Price. As a junior last season, Price averaged 14.6 points per game, while pulling down 6.8 rebounds per game. Among his highlights last year was a 30-point outing versus Christian Brothers on February 9, while he also posted a 23 point, eight rebound and six block performance against Plainfield on January 15.

PRESEASON PROPS
After being picked second in the previous two seasons, New Haven was the unanimous pick to win the Southwest Division in the Northeast-10 as predicted by a tally of the league's head coaches. New Haven registered 91 points in the poll, the most among all 14 teams in the league. The reigning NCAA East Region Champion Saint Anselm was picked to finish first in the Northeast Division earning five of the 14 possible first place votes, while Stonehill matched the five first place votes but finished second in the overall vote tally.
2019-20 NE10 Men's Basketball Coaches Poll
Northeast Division:
1. Saint Anselm - 78 (5)
2. Stonehill - 72 (5)
3. Bentley – 62 (1)
t-4. Franklin Pierce – 60 (3)
t-4. Southern New Hampshire – 60
6. Assumption – 33
7. Saint Michael's - 20 
Southwest Division:
1. New Haven - 91 (13)
2. Adelphi - 69 (1)
3. Southern Connecticut – 61
4. Pace – 53
5. Le Moyne – 51
6. Saint Rose – 36
7. American International - 24

THE SCHEDULE
"Our goal each year is to play a competitive non-league schedule to prepare us for the Northeast-10, one of the toughest leagues in the country," said head coach Ted Hotaling. "We have accomplished that again this season with games against teams both inside and outside of the East Region."

• The New Haven men's basketball schedule consists of 26 total dates.
• The Chargers open up the season with a big test, playing four of their first five games away from the friendly confines of Charger Gymnasium. Included is a trip to the Sunshine State to compete in the Terrace Hotel Thanksgiving Classic against perennial Sunshine State Conference power Florida Southern, and Saint Leo.
• Among the 13 Northeast-10 Conference opponents, the Chargers will play their six divisional opponents twice; Adelphi, Southern Connecticut State, Saint Rose, Pace, Le Moyne and American International.
• New Haven will play seven non-conference games including Concordia (N.Y.), Florida Southern, Saint Leo, Holy Family, Jefferson, Saint Thomas Aquinas and a season-ending match-up with Molloy.