Box Score THE BASICS
-Score: University of New Haven 81, Assumption College 77
-Records: Assumption (10-8, NE10 4-7), New Haven (9-8, NE10 7-4)
-Location: Worcester, Mass. (Laska Gymnasium)
-The Lead: The Assumption College men's basketball team fell to the Chargers of the University of New Haven in a Northeast-10 Conference showdown on Saturday evening. In a back-and-forth contest that saw a total of six ties and eight lead changes, the Chargers held on for the final 81-77 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Junior Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md. / Quince Orchard) and senior Branislav Vujadinovic (Belgrade, Serbia / St. Joseph) hit back-to-back three pointers to give Assumption a 21-15 lead with 12:32 on the clock in the first half.
-The Chargers responded with a three and a jumper by senior Elijah Bailey to come back within one with 10 minutes on the clock, 21-20.
-The Hounds went on a 10-point run, capped off with two three-pointers made by sophomore Cal Connelly (Rochester, N.H. / Spaulding / Tilton) to take an 11-point advantage with 6:47 to go, 31-20.
-With under two minutes to play in the first half, New Haven used four baskets from four different players to take a one-point lead, 39-38. Vujadinovic made a three and a layup to give Assumption the 43-41 edge heading into the halftime break.
-The Chargers took a seven-point lead when red-shirt junior Derrick Rowland hit back-to-back baskets from behind the arc, 66-59. They pulled ahead by 15 with 5:08 on the clock when Bailey made a drive to the basket and hit a three-pointer to kick off the 10-point run, 76-61.
-The Hounds made a bid at a come-back with 11 unanswered points, to bring them within four with 51 seconds to play. Bailey hit a pair of free-throws to put the visitors back up by six, but Vujadinovic answered with a three as the Hounds trailed by just three with 15 seconds to play. The Chargers held on for the final 81-77 victory
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-Connelly led Assumption with 19 points and went 5-for-5 from behind the arc. Vujadinovic finished with 16 points and a team-leading six rebounds. Kelly put up 14 points, dished out five assists, and came up with three steals in the setback. Red-shirt Junior Malik Brown (Waldorf, Md. / Northpoint) rounded out double-digit scoring for the Hounds with 10 points.
-Rowland and Bailey both put up 22 points for the Chargers. Sophomore Quashawn Lane finished with 13 points and senior Kessly Felizor added 12 points and a team-leading seven rebounds in the victory.
-Assumption shot 48.3% from the field and finished shooting 50% (13-for-26) from three-point range. New Haven shot 55.2% from field goal range and finished shooting 33.3% (9-for-27) from beyond the arc.
-Assumption went 6-for-9 (66.7%) at the free throw line while the Chargers went 8-for-9 (88.9%).
-New Haven outrebounded the Hounds 32-26.
UP NEXT
-Assumption is back in action on Tuesday, January 28th when they travel to Southern Connecticut State University for a Northeat-10 Conference game at 7:30 p.m.
