SPARKILL, N.Y. – Senior
Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) scored a career-high 33 points to lead the New Haven men's basketball team, but the Chargers fell on the road 87-72 on Wednesday night 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. Senior
Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while freshman
Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) scored 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.
The Spartans (13-2, 3-0 ECC) pulled away with a strong offensive second half that saw them connect on 21-of-24 field goal attempts (87.5 percent), including 10-for-12 from beyond the arc. For the game, STAC shot 62 percent overall and nearly 58 percent from downtown. The Chargers (4-8, 2-4 NE10) finished the game shooting an even 50 percent from the floor, including a 64 percent clip in the second half. New Haven held a 34-24 edge in the paint while STAC controlled the boards, 28-16.
Felizor tied the game at two early with a jumper before STAC ran off five straight to take a 7-2 lead at the first media timeout.
Bailey connected on a three-pointer from the left corner to cut it to 13-7 at the 11:37 media timeout. Bailey also grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and took it coast-to-coast for a layup that got the Chargers back within 10 at 19-9 at the 9:16 mark.
Trailing by a half-high 11, the Chargers rattled off a 6-0 run with four points from Felizor and two free throws from Bailey to get back within single digits, but STAC iced the run with a three to go back up 28-17 at the final media timeout of the first half with 3:11 remaining.
Rowland drew a big offensive charge near midcourt in the closing seconds, giving the Chargers the ball back, which led to Bailey sinking two free throws with 0.3 seconds on the clock to pull New Haven within 34-27 at the half.
In the second, Thomas hit two straight buckets after the under-16 media timeout to end a 10-0 STAC run and get New Haven back within 52-38. After falling behind by as many as 21 points, New Haven clawed back within 12 by the 7:47 mark following an 11-2 run, highlighted by a Thomas triple and a dunk from Felizor.
New Haven would get as close as 11 on two occasions, the first time following a Bailey jumper at 6:13, and once more with 4:16 remaining when Felizor used two free throws to make it 75-62. STAC answered by surging to score nine of the next 11 points over the next two-plus minutes to ice the game away and cement their 15-point victory.
The Chargers will hit the road once again this Saturday afternoon as they re-enter Northeast-10 Conference play with a matchup at Saint Michael's at 3:30 p.m.
