GAME DAY INFORMATION
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DATE: March 1, 2020
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LOCATION: Ted Grant Court | Syracuse, N.Y.
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GAME DAY LINKS
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LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
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THE FIRST LOOK
It may have taken some extra time, but the Chargers season remains alive as they advanced through the NE10 First Round with a double OT win over Bentley and now head to Syracuse to take on the top seed from the Southwest Division, Le Moyne.
INSIDE THE SERIES
· New Haven and Le Moyne meet for the 39th time in the history of the two programs.
· Overall, the Dolphins hold a 24-14 advantage in the first 38 meetings, dating back to 1983-84 when New Haven opened the series with a 52-50 home win.
· Under 10-year head coach Ted Hotaling, the Dolphins hold a 13-8 advantage following four-straight wins for Le Moyne.
· Overall since joining the Northeast-10 (2008-09), New Haven is 8-16 against the Dolphins.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
All season long, 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 65.5% of the overall scoring for the season. Leading the way is Bailey who is averaging 19.9 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. In a recent cross-division outing against Saint Anselm, Bailey net 30+ for the second time this season, dropping in a career-high 33 points. Felizor follows Bailey adding 13.7 ppg while leading the team with an average of 8.8 rebounds per contest. He also leads the way with 21 blocks and is second with 27 steals, while setting a career-high with 33 points earlier this season against STAC. Rounding out the three leaders is Rowland who is averaging 13.1 ppg while leading the team with 114 assists and 30 steals. Rowland also notched a new career-high this season when he dropped in 32 points against Adelphi and when he dished out 10 assists against Holy Family.
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
As the top seed in the Southwest Division, the Dolphins earned a bye into the quarterfinal round as they look to rebound from a home loss to Pace University in the regular season finale at home on Tuesday night. Overall for the season, the Dolphins are averaging 83.4 points per game which leads all NE10 programs while they are second among conference schools with their 38.6 rebound per game average. Individually, five different Dolphins are average double figures in the scoring column, however the trio of Ryan Roland, Tom Brown and Nino Hernandez pull much of the weight across the statistical categories. Roland, who leads the team in scoring at 15.9 ppg, also leads the way in assists (124) and steals (59). Brown comes in second in scoring (13.3 ppg) while leading the squad with a 9.8 rebound per game average, second highest in the NE10. Finally, Hernandez is just behind Brown in scoring (13.2 ppg) and rebounding (4.8 rpg).
UP NEXT
The winner of the quarterfinal match-up between New Haven and Le Moyne will advance to the semifinal round and face the winner of a quarterfinal between NE No. 2 seed Stonehill and SW No.3 seed Southern Connecticut. The semifinal round of the 2020 NE10 Championship is slated for Wednesday with tip off times scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
NE10 TOURNAMENT HISTORY
New Haven makes its eighth appearance in the NE10 Championship since joining the league for the 2008-09 season. This season also represents the fourth straight appearance for the Blue and Gold. Overall, the Chargers hold a 2-1 record in the first round of the Championship and have advanced to the quarterfinals seven times, making semifinal and championship game appearances in 2014 and 2019. New Haven has advanced to the quarterfinals in each of its last four appearances, last season defeating cross-town rival Southern Connecticut 87-66 in front of a home crowd. Overall, the Chargers are 7-7 in NE10 Championship play.
VS LE MOYNE IN THE POSTSEASON
New Haven and Le Moyne have met just once previous in the NE10 Championship, that coming also in the semifinal round in 2017 and also taking place at Ted Grant Court. In that battle, the Dolphins came out with a 61-47 victory as then freshmen Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) and Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) were held to a combined six points. Leading the Chargers on the day was then freshman Roy Kane, Jr. (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) who finished with 17 points as they were held to just 32.6 percent shooting (15-of-46) and turned the rock over 15 times.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Trailing by as many as 14 points late in the first half, the men's basketball team rallied back to take the lead in the final minutes before ultimately falling 69-65 at Le Moyne. Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) led the Chargers with 18 points and tied his season-best with a game-high 15 rebounds while becoming the 36th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points. He was one of four Chargers to score in double figures, joined by Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who scored 16, Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) with 15 and Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) added 12. For the game, New Haven outrebounded the Dolphins 39-32 and outscored Le Moyne 32-14 in the paint and 11-2 on second-chance points. The Chargers shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field while Le Moyne shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) for the game.
LAST TIME OUT
It took an extra 10 minutes, but the men's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinal round following an 88-82 double OT victory over Northeast No. 4 Bentley. Leading the Chargers on the night was Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) and Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) who finished with 24 and 20 points, respectively, the latter of which set a career-high for the rookie. Overall, four Chargers finished in double figures with sophomore Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) adding 14 points and redshirt junior Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) inching closer to the 1,000 point plateau with a dozen points. As a team, the Chargers closed out the night shooting 41.1 percent from the field, connecting on 30-of-73 field goal attempts, including seven from long range. New Haven also added 21 points at the free throw line, those coming on 28 attempts. The Blue and Gold also blew by their previous season-high of 37 rebounds, pulling down a game-best 56 boards and holding Bentley to just 37 total rebounds. Thomas' 14 rebounds led all players in the game while he was one of two Chargers in double figures with senior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) finishing with 11 bounds to go along with eight points.
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
For the fifth time in the last six years, New Haven knocked off a ranked opponent when they defeated the No. 17/18 Bentley 72-42 in cross-divisional action. The win over Bentley also marks the second-straight year New Haven defeated a ranked Bentley team. Overall under Hotaling, the Chargers have defeated seven ranked opponents, including the highest ranked team in program history; No. 2 Southern Connecticut State University in 2015-16.
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.
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)
Jan. 13 :: Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School)
Jan. 20 :: Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School)
Jan. 20 :: Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech)
Feb. 3 :: Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School)
Feb. 3 :: Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown)
Feb. 10 :: Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown)
Feb. 17 :: Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown)
Feb. 24 :: Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School)
Feb. 24 :: Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy)
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. Heading into the regular season finale, the Chargers have converted 237 three pointers, led by senior Elijah Bailey (Freeport, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) who has drained 68 buckets from long range.
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.
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 then-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 24 points in the regular season finale against Molloy he took over the No. 8 spot all-time and now needs 66 points to pass Jim Allen (1975-79) for seventh all-time.
MILESTONE MAN
Senior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) is the newest member of the 1,000 point club at New Haven and at the same time is the first player since Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) (2011-15) to be a member of two 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 ninth all-time. In the hunt for 1,000 points, Felizor broke the plateau with his team-high 18 points against Le Moyne and currently stands 32nd all-time with 1,098 points. Overall, Felizor is the 18th player all-time to join both the 500 rebound and 1,000 point club.
NO MOUNTAIN TO HIGH
Redshirt junior Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) is the newest Charger in the hunt for 1,000 as he stands six points shy of becoming the second player this season to join the prestigious list. In addition Felizor who broke the plateau against Le Moyne, Rowland would be the third active player on the roster to join the list during their career as a Charger with Bailey earning the distinction last season.
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. With his two made three pointers against Franklin Pierce, Bailey moved into third all-time in program history, currently with 210. Bailey will likely settle into the number two spot all-time as he would need to convert 41 more three pointers to tie Mike Grove for second (251, 1989-93).
DOUBLE DIPPING
Senior Kessly Felizor (Hightstown, N.J./Hightstown) flew a bit under the radar in the month of December, but in doing so he has compiled a double double in four of the five games that month. In that same stretch, the senior post player averaged with 18.6 ppg and 10.6 rebounds per game, while shooting an impressive 65.5 percent in that same stretch (36-of-55). In addition to that, Felizor picked off 10 steals over the five game stretch.
NEW YEAR, NEW YOU
Since the calendar rolled over to a new decade, the Chargers redshirt junior guard Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech) has been nothing but impressive, racking up a pair of 25+ performances, including a career-high 32 points against NE10 SW Division foe Adelphi. Over the 17 games since the New Year, Rowland is averaging 14.7 points, shooting 90-of-196 (46%) overall and 42-of-101 (42%) from long range and has dished out 66 assists, grabbed 46 boards, picked off 20 steals and blocked five shots.
LITERACY MATTERS
For the fourth straight season, the New Haven men's basketball team partnered with Coaching for Literacy to promote the #Fight4Literacy initiative with this year's game coming on February 1 when the Chargers hosted 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 offered a special admission opportunity that afternoon - any fan who brought a new or gently used book to the game received complimentary admission. All books collected were then 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.
