NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Led by 21 points from senior guard Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School), the New Haven men's basketball team dropped a 73-67 decision to crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State University, falling to 11-13 overall and 9-9 in NE10 play.
Bailey's team-high 21 points, his 13th game of the season with 20+, came on 7-of-11 shooting and moves him into the top-10 all-time scorers in New Haven history, passing Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) (2010-14) who previously held the No. 10 spot with 1,635 points. Among his seven field goals were a pair of three pointers, while he also added five points at the free throw line. Bailey also hauled in six rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.
Overall, Bailey was one of three players to record double figures on the evening, joined by sophomore Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) and redshirt junior Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) who finished with 16 and 11 points respectively. Among the pair, Lane led the way shooting 6-of-11 from the field and added four points, on five attempts, at the free throw line. Rowland's 13 points came on four field goals, three of which came from beyond the three point arc.
As a team, New Haven closed out the game shooting 40 percent from the field 24-of-60, with one-third of those buckets from beyond the arc, 8-of-27 for 29.6 percent. The Chargers also finished 11-of-16 at the free throw line and held a 41-34 advantage on the boards.
Senior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) led the Chargers with nine rebounds, one of six player to haul in at least one rebound. Lane followed with eight, while he and Felizor led the Chargers with a trio of assists each.
New Haven returns home to close out the regular season with back-to-back home games against Adelphi and Molloy. First on the docket will be the final regular season NE10 game with the Panthers visiting Charger Gym on Saturday, February 22. Opening tip against the Panthers is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. with a pre-game ceremony honoring the Chargers senior class.
