WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Redshirt Sophomore Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) scored a game-high 19 points to lead the University of New Haven men's basketball team as they dropped their regular season finale to the visiting Le Moyne Dolphins 57-56 on Tuesday night. With an overall record of 18-8 and a mark of 13-7 in the Northeast-10, the Chargers will enter the upcoming NE10 Championship as the second seed in the Southwest Division and will host a quarterfinal against Northeast Division third seed Bentley on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
Rowland was one of three players to finish in double figures joined by junior Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) who closed out the night with a dozen and junior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who kept his double digit scoring streak alive at 18-straight games with 10 points.
As a team, New Haven shot 50 percent for the night, connecting on 24-of-48 field goal attempts. Included in the 24 field goals were just three from outside the three point arc, a season-low for the Blue and Gold. Individually, the Chargers were led by Rowland who proved to be the hot hand of the evening, connecting on 9-of-11 from the field, while also dishing out a team-high four assists.
The Dolphins also took a slim victory in the battle of the boards with a 28-27 margin, while Kane led New Haven's efforts with six boards. Junior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) followed him with five rebounds, while also scoring eight points. Defensively, New Haven held the Dolphins to just 39.6 percent shooting (21-of-53).
The Chargers came out of the gates to take an early 6-2 lead thanks to baskets from Kane and two from Rowland. Le Moyne answered right back scoring the next six points to take their first lead of the night at 8-6. Kane would answer that lead change with one of his own, draining the first three pointer of the night for the Blue and Gold for the second lead change in the first four minutes of action.
Over the next three minutes the Dolphins were able to open up a five point lead using a 6-2 run before the Chargers broke that momentum with a layup from Felizor. After once again facing a five point deficit, the Chargers turned the tables with a 5-0 run to knot the game at 18 before answering a 20-18 deficit by scoring the next 10 points to take a 28-20 lead which would turn out to be the largest advantage in the game for either team.
It would take nearly four minutes, but the Dolphins fought back to pull within a single possession for the final four minutes of the half before eventually tying the score with a buzzer-beating fast break three pointer from Ryan Roland. Both Kane and Rowland would finish in double figures in the first 20 minutes with Rowland leading all players in the game with 13 points.
Coming out of the intermission, the Dolphins would strike first, holding onto a slim two point advantage for the first 4:30 of the half before New Haven took its first lead with a layup from Bailey. That lead change would last the next nine minutes, however the Blue and Gold were only able to build their lead to six, the largest of the half for either team, with that advantage coming on a basket from Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J. /Trenton Catholic Academy).
Le Moyne answered that six point deficit by rattling off eight unanswered points, flipping the lead back in their favor with 6:28 remaining. Over the final six plus minutes the largest lead from either team would be four, which came in favor of New Haven on a layup from Felizor with 2:48 remaining.
The Dolphins responded once again, this time scoring five straight to take a 55-54 lead before a field goal from Rowland gave the lead back to New Haven with 29 seconds remaining. Le Moyne would come up empty on their attempt with seven seconds remaining, however C.J. Asuncion-Byrd came up big with a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining. The last attempt from New Haven, which came from well over the half court line, was off the mark.
