SPRINGFIELD, Mass. â€" It wasn't the way the seniors wanted to go out, but the Western New England College men's basketball team will get another chance to play before the home fans. 

The Golden Bears (13-12) ended their regular season with a 61-55 loss to visiting Emerson College Saturday afternoon, but wound up as the third seed in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament after posting an 11-7 conference mark. WNEC will host sixth-seeded Suffolk (11-14, 9-9) in a quarterfinal round game of the GNAC Tournament on Tuesday.

Emerson (12-13) also finished 11-7 in league play, but lost the tie-breaker to WNEC based on their head-to-head meetings with Norwich. Western New England College won both its contests against the Cadets while the Lions split its series.

Emerson senior center Steve Georgoulis (New York, NY) was the difference today registering a double-double with 23 points (11-for-16 from the field) and 16 rebounds. Sophomore guard Will Dawkins (Springfield, MA) added 17 points for the Lions who avenged a 30-point defeat (80-50) to the Golden Bears back on January 16.

Emerson opened up a 14-point lead in the first half and took a 31-21 advantage into intermission. The Lions took their largest lead at 46-28 when Georgoulis made a lay-up with 10:01 left in the game.

Western New England College rallied by pulling within six points on three occasions, and then four at 53-49 when sophomore guard Matt Maynard (Paterson, NJ) hit a jumper with 1:59 remaining. Sophomore guard Joe Boylan (Royal Oak, MI) gave the Lions a six-point cushion (55-49) by hitting a short jumper in the lane with the shot clock winding down at the 1:25 mark.

The Golden Bears got within three (55-52) when sophomore guard Ryan Hernandez (Hampton Bays, NY) hit a NBA three-pointer with 1:10 left, but Dawkins answered with a jumper and Boylan added two free throws with 25 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Maynard finished with 17 points for the Golden Bears while junior center Malik Champlain (Norwich, CT) contributed nine points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Jon Godbout (Bristol, CT), who came into the contest with a 17.4 average, was held to a season low three points.

Godbout, forwards Jason Cardinal (Ashaway, RI) and Sterling Scanlon (West Hartford, CT), guards Matt Gigliello (Monroe Township, NJ) and Jeremy Sternstein (Ithaca, NY), and four-year team assistant Nick DiOrio (Cranston, RI) were honored before the game during "Senior Day" activities.

In the other GNAC Tournament games this Tuesday (Feb. 21), top-seeded Emmanuel (19-6, 17-1) hosts eighth-seeded Rivier (11-14, 7-11), second-seeded Norwich (16-7, 13-5) entertains seventh-seeded Southern Vermont (9-15, 9-9), and fourth-seeded Emerson meets fifth-seeded Johnson & Wales (12-12, 10-8).