GAME DAY INFORMATION   DATE: January 1, 2020 LOCATION: Ross Athletic Center | Colchester, Vt.   GAME DAY LINKS   LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

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THE FIRST LOOK
New Haven tips off cross-divisional play on Saturday when they travel to Colchester, Vt. for a date with the Saint Michael's Purple Knights. The Chargers look to snap a three-game skid when they travel to the Green Mountain State, while Saint Michael's closed out its first round of NE Division play winless at 0-6.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• New Haven and Saint Michael's meet for the 24th time in the history of the two programs.
• Overall, the Chargers hold a slim 12-11 lead in the all-time series, including winning back-to-back outings the last two times out.
• The all-time series against the Purple Knights dates back to the season opener in 1978-79 season.
• Under 10th-year head coach Ted Hotaling, the Chargers hold a 7-3 record against the Northeast Division foe.
• New Haven's win in 2017-18 broke a set of back-to-back wins for Saint Michael's, while last year's victory was the seventh victory over the Purple Knights in the last nine meetings.
   

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 65% of the overall scoring for the season. Leading the way is Bailey who is averaging 18.7 points per game and scored 20+ in five straight that spanned the end of November up to the holiday break, increasing his average in that stretch alone to 27.0 ppg. Included in that five-game stretch for Bailey was a season-high 31 points against Southern Connecticut. Felizor, who is second on the team at 14.8 ppg, is averaging a double double over his last six games, putting up 19.1 ppg and pulling down 10.3 rpg in that stretch, which includes a career-high 33 points at STAC. Rounding out the three leaders is Rowland who adds 12.0 points per game while leading the team with 63 assists including a career-high 10 against Holy Family. Rowland also set a career-high when he dropped in 32 points in the road loss at Adelphi which opened up the 2020 portion of the schedule. 

SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS
Searching for their first NE10 victory of the season, Saint Michael's is winless in its last four games and overall for the season stands at 3-10 after opening the year with back-to-back wins over Caldwell and NYIT at the Assumption College Tip-Off Classic. For the season, the Purple Knights are led by rookie forward Kasai Brown who is averaging 15.2 points per game, one of three players in double figures. The big man is also a threat from outside the arc where he is currently second on the team with 20 three point field goals. Following Brown in leading the offense is seniors Jordan Guzman (14.8 ppg) and Eli DiGrande (11.8 ppg). DiGrande also leads the team with an average of 5.6 rebounds per contest. As a team, Saint Michael's is averaging 8.0 steals per game which is currently second highest in the NE10.

UP NEXT
New Haven will make its debut at Charger Gymnasium for the first time since the New Year when they host Bentley on Tuesday, January 14. The Falcons are a recent addition to the D2SIDA Top-25 coming in at 18th with a 12-2 overall record. Tip-off in the cross-divisional battle is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Behind a season high 18 points and a double double (12 rebounds) from Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) the men's basketball team cruised past Saint Michael's 81-47. Overall, Felizor was one of three players in double figures with Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) leading all scorers with 22 points and Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) chipping in 11 points. Felizor's 12 rebounds also led the team as the Chargers trailed in the battle of the boards 40-38. Among the leading scorers, Felizor led the trio shooting 6-of-7 from the field with a perfect effort 2-of-2 effort from outside the three point arc. He also added four points at the free throw line in five attempts. Bailey also shot well, connecting on 7-of-16 from the field, while Rowland added a 4-of-8 effort. The pair also combined for six three-pointers. Rounding out the leading scorers was Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) and Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) who each finished with nine points. Overall, New Haven finished the game shooting 50.0 percent from the field, connecting on 28 buckets in 56 attempts. Among the 28 field goals were 11 from long range. The Blue and Gold also added 14 points at the free throw line in 17 attempts (82.4 percent).

LAST TIME OUT
Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) scored a career-high 33 points to lead the men's basketball team, but the Chargers fell on the road 87-72 at No. 11 Saint Thomas Aquinas. Felizor finished the night 8-for-12 from the field and a perfect 16-for-16 from the free throw line. Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) followed with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while freshman Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) rounded out the leading scorers with 11 points and added a team-high eight rebounds. Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) scored seven points while issuing a game-high eight assists.

BRING OUT THE BROOMS
Senior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) and Freshman Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) capped off a 2-0 week sweeping the NE10 Weekly awards. Bailey earns the second NE10 Player of the Week accolade of his career, while Thomas is the first Charger to earn Rookie of the Week honors since Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) earned the distinction on February 19, 2018. That date also marks the last time the Chargers swept the weekly honors with Rowland joined by then senior Danny Upchurch who earned Player of the Week honors. Bailey closed out last week averaging 25 points on 18-of-24 field goal attempts with eight of those buckets from outside the three point arc. Bailey also hauled in 15 boards including his first career double double with a career-high 10 rebounds against Holy Family. Thomas capped off his weekly performance with a pair of career highs on Sunday afternoon against Holy Family when he scored 18 points and dished out six assists.

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) and Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) have each earned the honor twice.
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)
Dec. 16 :: Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown)
Jan. 6 :: Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech)

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 12 games, the Chargers have converted 110 three pointers, if they were to maintain their current average for the remainder of the regular season the Chargers would stand at 237 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 in a three-game stretch against SCSU, Saint Rose and AIC. 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 eight 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. With his 17 points last time out at STAC, he is currently with for 14th all-time with Willie Mintz (1978-82) with 1,408 career points. Bailey now has his eye on lucky number 13 which is currently held by Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) (2011-15) with 1,551 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 17th all-time. In the hunt for 1,000, Felizor currently stands 95 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 172 and with just eight 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.

DOUBLE DIPPING
Senior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) has flown a bit under the radar the last few games, but in doing so he has compiled a double double in four of the last seven outings. In that same stretch, the senior post player is averaging a double double with 19.1 ppg and 10.3 rebounds per game, while shooting an impressive 64.4 percent in that same stretch (47-of-73). In addition to that, Felizor picked off 11 steals over a five game stretch, dished out eight assists over the last three outings and finished a perfect 16-of-16 at the free throw line against STAC.

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.