New Haven Starters: Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy), Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech), Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y. /Elmont Memorial High School ), Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) 

St. Thomas Aquinas Starters: Demetre Roberts, Antonio Vendola, Grant Singleton, Sean Moore, Osbel Caraballo

How it Happened
After being down only two going into the half, a twenty minute span that featured three ties and nine lead changes, New Haven held Saint Thomas Aquinas scoreless for seven minutes to secure a 14 point lead. But turnovers took a toll on the Chargers, allowing for the Spartans to walk off the court with a spot in the NCAA DII East Region Championship game on Tuesday night. 

Starting with graduate guard Derrick Rowland (Cohoes, N.Y./Green Tech), the Chargers stopped the Spartans from scoring beginning at 18:14 to 12:19 in the second half. Rowland hit a three in New Haven's big run, as did Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy) who also added an additional seven points. The big spark died out following Tavin Pierre Philippe's (Brooklyn, N.Y./Baldwin High School) three, after being subbed in for Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y. /Elmont Memorial High School ) eight seconds prior. 

Rowland has been with New Haven since 2016, and before the semifinal matchup he ranked 22nd in Charger history for scoring with 1,295 points throughout his career. Tonight he added 13 points and tied Jeffery Adkins (2010-14) in the 21st slot with 1,308 points. He also added one three point jumper to his career 217 and remains third in program history for most three's in his time with the program. 

At the start of the second half, the Blue and Gold had only committed six turnovers, but at the final buzzer the Spartans had added total of 25 points to their column just off of slip ups from New Haven. 

Forty one points were scored by the Spartans after the Chargers run; just a twelve minute window. Grant Singleton, who only had three points at the half, added 17 in the second to become Saint Thomas Aquinas' leading scorer. 

In the end, a 14 point edge over the Spartans become a 71-61 deficit. 



Inside the Box Score 

• New Haven had four players in double digits: Philippe (13), Rowland (13), Lane (12), and Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) (10). Saint Thomas Aquinas had three: Grant Singleton (20), Osbel Caraballo (17), and Demetre Roberts (14). 
• New Haven committed 16 turnovers in the second half alone giving the Spartans an extra 19 points in the final 20 minutes of action.
• Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y. /Elmont Memorial High School ) closed the night with five assists, as did Roberts of the Spartans. 
• New Haven's big run finished at 12:33 in the second half, where they pushed 18 points. 
• In the second half, the Spartans out-shot the Chargers 34-21.

What's Next
As the 2021-22 season comes to a close in the Dana Center, make sure to continue following along with the Chargers on social media by following @UNewHavenMBB. 

Stay tuned for next seasons schedule, which will be released in the fall.