The home finales came three days apart back in late February of 2020 for University of New Haven guards Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) and Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech). Not even the sting of defeat could dampen their enthusiasm since there would be more games to be played in Charger Gymnasium in the following season.

Or maybe not.

The global pandemic didn't stop the Chargers from hitting the court for practices during the 2020-21 season but there were no games to be played. 

The fans will be back in the stands when New Haven plays its first regular-season home game in just over 21 months when New Haven plays Pace in a doubleheader. The 3-1 women's basketball team takes to the court at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men's game around 7:30 p.m.

"I can't wait," Rowland said. "I feel like we have been playing in an empty gym for almost two years now. I am excited, I know the fans are excited to see us play and it will be a good time."

It is an experience that both Pergola and Rowland could have lost when the 2020-21 schedule was wiped out. They both opted to return for an additional season of eligibility.

"I had a long thought about it," Pergola said. "I wasn't sure at first but I put so much time into this sport that I needed to finish my fourth year strong so I am extremely grateful that Coach [Debbie] Buff and Coach [Steve] Bower allowed me to come back and allowed my teammates to come back just to finish our years out."

Pergola is one of four returning starters and it is hardly surprising that returnees Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) (17.3 points per game), Pergola (15.3) and Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) (12.8) are the three double-digit scorers for the Chargers. Bionca Chambers (Bronx, N.Y./New Milford) and newcomer Briana Van Cleaf (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy) are among the other contributors in the regular rotation.

"I think we are doing a lot of good things," New Haven women's basketball coach Debbie Buff said. "I think we have to do a better job of rebounding the ball, really they haven't played together."

Buff believes there is more depth on this team than the squad from the 2019-20 season but it is a matter of getting more people quality minutes. 

"When the games are tight, you have a tendency to shorten your bench a little bit," Buff said. "I want to in time be able to lengthen that with more minutes for a lot of players."

The men's team had to replace Elijah Bailey and Kessly Felizor, the top two scorers on the 2019-20 team that reached the Northeast-10 tournament championship game.

Rowland, who was second on the '19-20 season with an average of 36.7 minutes per game, opted to come back for a sixth season.

"I think it is wanting to win, wanting to be a part of something, trying to finish my career off and not leaving anything short and trying to finish my career as a Charger," Rowland said. "I have enjoyed myself here and I wanted to come back."

Another returnee, Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) has emerged into a go-to player as he is the Chargers' leading scorer with an average of 20.5 points per game and also the top rebounder. Returning players Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) and Antonio Lopez (Medford, N.Y./St. Anthony's) have gone from combining for 13 points per game to 22.6 this season.

Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y. /Elmont Memorial High School ), Sean Smith and Majur Makar have moved into starting roles in their first season with the Chargers. The 7-foot-1 Majak and 6-foot-10 Nick Crocker (East Falmouth, M.A./Falmouth High School) provide a dimension that the Chargers didn't have in the past.

"I think we have a lot more depth and I think we have a lot more size obviously with two 7-footers in the frontcourt," Rowland said. "We have guys who are interchangeable, anybody can play."

Even with a season worth of practices, there have been some growing pains in the first four games as New Haven's returning players and newcomers continue to learn how to play together.

"I love our vibe, I love our leadership and I love our group," New Haven men's basketball coach Ted Hotaling said. "I think we just have to play together a little bit more.

"Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech), Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy), Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie), Tony Lopez, Kendall McMillan (Columbia, Md./Mount Saint Joseph), the guys who have been here kind of know what they are doing," Hotaling said. "They have been good at helping the other guys but really nothing is better than experience."

The emergence of Thomas has been huge for the Chargers in the early going.

"My freshman year my role was a bit different because we had seniors like Elijah Bailey, Kessly Felizor and guys like that," Thomas said. "I was trying to be a sponge trying to learn anything I can, I learned so much from the guys so it carried over."

Although many of the students will already be heading home for the Thanksgiving break, it will still be a little surreal for the veteran New Haven players to play a regular-season home game in front of fans again.

"I am definitely very excited," Pergola said. "We didn't get to play last year so it has been a good two years [without fans at games] so I know my family is excited to come. It is going to be a good atmosphere and everyone is just really pumped to get people to their games again."

It is also an exciting time for the New Haven athletic department. The football team won the Northeast-10 title for the first time in nearly a decade and defeated Bentley 38-13 in the first round of the Division II playoffs. The women's volleyball team reached the NE10 final and is headed to the NCAA tournament. The field hockey went from winning six combined NE10 games during the 2018 and 2019 seasons to posting a 9-5 conference mark this season. Now the basketball programs will look to keep the Chargers on a roll.

"If you are around success and winning, it breeds winning in your program and other programs," Hotaling said. "Everybody wants to win but there is a cost to that, you have to work hard, you have to invest, you have to sacrifice a lot. I know our guys want to win and I think seeing in other programs helps everyone in our department. When New Haven wins, we all win and I think it raises the bar for not just the players but the coaches as well."

The home finales came three days apart back in late February of 2020 for University of New Haven guards Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) and Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech). Not even the sting of defeat could dampen their enthusiasm since there would be more games to be played in Charger Gymnasium in the following season.

Or maybe not.

The global pandemic didn't stop the Chargers from hitting the court during the 2020-21 season but there were no games to be played. 

The fans will be back in the stands when New Haven plays its first regular-season home game in just over 21 months when New Haven plays Pace in a doubleheader. The 3-1 women's basketball team takes to the court at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men's game around 7:30 p.m.

"I can't wait," Rowland said. "I feel like we have been playing in an empty gym for almost two years now. I am excited, I know the fans are excited to see us play and it will be a good time."

It is an experience that both Pergola and Rowland could have lost when the 2020-21 schedule was wiped out. They both opted to return for an additional season of eligibility.

"I had a long thought about it," Pergola said. "I wasn't sure at first but I put so much time into this sport that I needed to finish my fourth year strong so I am extremely grateful that Coach [Debbie] Buff and Coach [Steve] Bower allowed me to come back and allowed my teammates to come back just to finish our years out."

Pergola is one of four returning starters and it is hardly surprising that returnees Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) (17.3 points per game), Pergola (15.3) and Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) (12.8) are the three double-digit scorers for the Chargers. Bionca Chambers (Bronx, N.Y./New Milford) and newcomer Briana Van Cleaf (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy) are among the other contributors in the regular rotation.

"I think we are doing a lot of good things," New Haven women's basketball coach Debbie Buff said. "I think we have to do a better job of rebounding the ball, really they haven't played together."

Buff believes there is more depth on this team than the squad from the 2019-20 season but it is a matter of getting more people quality minutes. 

"When the games are tight, you have a tendency to shorten your bench a little bit," Buff said. "I want to in time be able to lengthen that with more minutes for a lot of players."

The men's team had to replace Elijah Bailey and Kessly Felizor, the top two scorers on the 2019-20 team that reached the Northeast-10 tournament championship game.

Rowland, who was second on the '19-20 season with an average of 36.7 minutes per game, opted to come back for a sixth season.

"I think it is wanting to win, wanting to be a part of something, trying to finish my career off and not leaving anything short and trying to finish my career as a Charger," Rowland said. "I have enjoyed myself here and I wanted to come back."

Another returnee, Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) has emerged into a go-to player as he is the Chargers' leading scorer with an average of 20.5 points per game and also the top rebounder. Returning players Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) and Antonio Lopez (Medford, N.Y./St. Anthony's) have gone from combining for 13 points per game to 22.6 this season.

Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y. /Elmont Memorial High School ), Sean Smith and Majur Makar have moved into starting roles in their first season with the Chargers. The 7-foot-1 Majak and 6-foot-10 Nick Crocker (East Falmouth, M.A./Falmouth High School) provide a dimension that the Chargers didn't have in the past.

"I think we have a lot more depth and I think we have a lot more size obviously with two 7-footers in the frontcourt," Rowland said. "We have guys who are interchangeable, anybody can play."

Even with a season worth of practices, there have been some growing pains in the first four games as New Haven's returning players and newcomers continue to learn how to play together.

"I love our vibe, I love our leadership and I love our group," New Haven men's basketball coach Ted Hotaling said. "I think we just have to play together a little bit more.

"Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech), Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy), Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie), Tony Lopez, Kendall McMillan (Columbia, Md./Mount Saint Joseph), the guys who have been here kind of know what they are doing," Hotaling said. "They have been good at helping the other guys but really nothing is better than experience."

The emergence of Thomas has been huge for the Chargers in the early going.

"My freshman year my role was a bit different because we had seniors like Elijah Bailey, Kessly Felizor and guys like that," Thomas said. "I was trying to be a sponge trying to learn anything I can, I learned so much from the guys so it carried over."

Although many of the students will already be heading home for the Thanksgiving break, it will still be a little surreal for the veteran New Haven players to play a regular-season home game in front of fans again.

"I am definitely very excited," Pergola said. "We didn't get to play last year so it has been a good two years [without fans at games] so I know my family is excited to come. It is going to be a good atmosphere and everyone is just really pumped to get people to their games again."

It is also an exciting time for the New Haven athletic department. The football team won the Northeast-10 title for the first time in nearly a decade and defeated Bentley 38-13 in the first round of the Division II playoffs. The women's volleyball team reached the NE10 final and is headed to the NCAA tournament. The field hockey went from winning six combined NE10 games during the 2018 and 2019 seasons to posting a 9-5 conference mark this season. Now the basketball programs will look to keep the Chargers on a roll.

"If you are around success and winning, it breeds winning in your program and other programs," Hotaling said. "Everybody wants to win but there is a cost to that, you have to work hard, you have to invest, you have to sacrifice a lot. I know our guys want to win and I think seeing in other programs helps everyone in our department. When New Haven wins, we all win and I think it raises the bar for not just the players but the coaches as well."