WEST HAVEN, Conn. – A second half for the record books, including a pair of players setting career-highs and junior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) becoming the 35th member of the 1,000 point club led the University of New Haven men's basketball team (15-6, 10-5 NE10) to a 99-77 win over crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State (14-9, 9-6 NE10).
Bailey's 1,000th career point, which came with 15:41 remaining in the second half was part of a career-best 32 points as he was joined by redshirt sophomore Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) who also net a career-high, chipping in 27 points. Combined the pair sank 12 three pointers, led by Rowland with seven, as New Haven closed out the game with a season-high 18 three pointers, the most since matching that total against Pace on February 18, 2017.
Overall, Bailey and Rowland were two of three players who finished in double figures as junior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) joined the pair matching his season-high with 18 points. Bailey and Felizor each finished the night perfect from the free throw line, combining to connect on 16-of-16 attempts.
As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 58.8 percent, the second best shooting percentage of the season, connecting on 30-of-51 from the field. In the second half alone, the Chargers shot a scorching 72 percent overall, connecting on 18-of-25 attempts, including 10-of-14 (71.4%) from beyond the arc. The 18 three pointers made for new haven came on 30 attempts which equals a season-high 60 percent effort. Additionally, the Chargers were on fire at the free throw line where they missed just one of their 22 attempts for a 95.5 percent showing.
The Owls opened up the game scoring the first two buckets of the night for an early 4-0 lead and maintained that advantage through the first 10 minutes of the game. The largest lead during that stretch for Southern Connecticut was six points, 16-10. New Haven responded to that deficit with a 12-0 run, holding the Owls scoreless for a three minute stretch while flipping the six-point advantage in its favor. Bailey led the way in that run netting six straight points on a three pointer and an and-one layup that both tied the score at 16 and provided the first lead at 19-16.
From that point, New Haven would hold the lead until the final four minutes of the opening period when the Owls outscored the Chargers 9-6 to take a three-point lead into the intermission. Felizor led the Blue and Gold in that first period, scoring 16 of his 18 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, including a trio of three pointers, and a 5-of-5 effort at the free throw line.
Coming out of the break, the two teams traded buckets through the first four minutes of action when the Chargers began to pull away using an 18-2 stretch that erased a single point deficit and turned into a double digit lead at 69-54. That rally, which spanned just four minutes of action began with Bailey's 1,000th point basket which came from beyond the three point arc, one of four three's during the run.
Bailey's three pointer that pushed him over the plateau was also the first in a stretch where the Chargers hit 8-of-9 attempts, the last of which, from Bailey, provided a 21 point cushion for New Haven, the largest to that point. Overall for the game, the Chargers largest lead came with under 90 seconds remaining minutes when they hit a 23-point margin twice.
New Haven will play its next two games on the road, beginning with a weekend visit to Garden City, N.Y. with a date with the Adelphi Panthers on Saturday, February 9. Tip-off in the NE10 divisional battle is slated for 3:30 p.m. following the women's game.
