GAME DAY INFORMATION   DATE: January 4, 2020 LOCATION: Center for Recreation & Sport | Garden City, N.Y.   GAME DAY LINKS   LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

NEWS NEWS ROSTER ROSTER SCHEDULE SCHEDULE STATS STATS GAME NOTES

THE FIRST LOOK
New Haven will open 2020 with its final game of the first half of Northeast-10 Southwest play when they travel to Long Island for a date with the Adelphi Panthers. The Chargers look to bounce back from a road loss at Jefferson to close out 2019, while the Panthers look to extend what is currently a five-game win streak that dates back to December 7.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• New Haven and Adelphi meet for the 47th time in the history of the two programs.
• Overall, the Panthers hold a 27-19 advantage in the first 46 meetings, dating back to February 15, 1977 when Adelphi opened the series with a 78-67 road win.
• Under 10th-year head coach Ted
  Hotaling, the Chargers are 8-11 against Adelphi.
• The Chargers had a three-game win streak against the Panthers snapped in the second match-up last year which came in Garden City.
• Overall since joining the Northeast-10 (2008-09), New Haven is 8-13 against the Panthers.
   

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 64% of the overall scoring for the season. Leading the way is Bailey who is averaging 19.0 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 13.5 ppg, is averaging a double double over his last five games, putting up 18.6 ppg and pulling down 10.6 rpg in that stretch. Rounding out the three leaders is Rowland who adds 10.5 points per game while leading the team with 49 assists including a career-high 10 against Holy Family, the first person with 10 or more since 2017.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Winners of its last five, the Panthers look to maintain that momentum in the new decade with their most recent loss their only in NE10 action against Le Moyne on December 4. Overall for the season, Adelphi is led by senior guard Austin Beech who is among the top two in every statistical category. He currently is second in scoring (11.6 ppg), rebounding (6.4 rpg) and assists (38), while leading the team in steals (17) and blocks (16). Additionally, Beech leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 61.2 percent of his 85 total attempts, while he has also worked his way to the free throw line a team-best 45 times. Sophomore guard Ronnie Silva leads all Panthers in scoring with his 18.8 ppg average, which includes a team-high 42 three point field goals.

UP NEXT
After rounding out the first half of divisional play against Adelphi, the Chargers will step out of conference play for a rare non-conference men's/women's doubleheader on Wednesday, January 8 when both squads will travel to Sparkill, N.Y. to meet the Saint Thomas Aquinas Spartans. Opening tip against STAC is set for 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.

LAST TIME THEY MET
A big second half helped Adelphi take down the Chargers by a score of 83-78. All five Charger starters scored in double figures led by Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) who net a career-high 19 points and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range, while adding four assists. Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) added a team-high 21 points, while Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) contributed 15 points, Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) totaled 11 points and Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) scored 10 points. For the game, New Haven finished 30-for-56 (53.6 percent) from the field and 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Panthers finished the game shooting 60.9 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from three-point range, thanks in large part to a hot second half where they connected on over 76 percent of their field goals and went 9-for-12 from downtown.

LAST TIME OUT
The fourth double double of the season from Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) led the men's basketball team as the Chargers dropped a 61-55 decision to the Jefferson Rams. Felizor closed out the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his second straight double double. In addition to shooting 6-of-10 from the field, Felizor added 4-of-5 from the free throw line while also dishing out three assists. Overall, Felizor was one of three players to score in double figures with Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) and Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) following with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Rounding out the leading scorers was Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) who finished with nine points while he and Thomas followed Felizor in leading the Chargers rebounding efforts, each pulling down five boards. For the game, New Haven shot 44.9 percent as a team, connecting on 22-of-49 field goal attempts with just five of those coming from beyond the three point arc. The Chargers also added six points at the free throw line, missing just a single of their seven attempts. As a team, the Blue and Gold also combined for 12 second chance points which came on five offensive boards.

BRING OUT THE BROOMS
SR Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) and FR 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)

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 10 games, the Chargers have converted 91 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 six 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 9 points shy of passing Greg Spicer (1982-86) for 15th all-time, and needs just 26 points to jump into the next century mark with 1,400 career points. Following that, Bailey will have his eye on point number 1,409 which will place him in 14th all-time with a larger mountain to climb before reaching 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 135 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 167 and with just 13 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 five outings. In that same stretch, the senior post player is averaging a double double with 18.6 ppg and 10.6 rebounds per game, while shooting an impressive 65.4 percent in that same stretch (36-of-55). In addition to that, Felizor has picked off a team-best 10 steals over the last four games.

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.