SPRINGFIELD, Mass. â€" Junior forward Jim Bayne (Bristol, CT) had his ninth double double of the season with 18 points and a game high 14 rebounds to lead the Western New England College men’s basketball team to a 60-55 victory over visiting Johnson & Wales University in a hard-fought Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game Saturday (Jan. 20) at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

The Golden Bears, who bounced back from a pair of close conference losses this week at River (64-60) and Emerson (53-51), improved their record to 9-7 and 6-2 in the GNAC.

The Wildcats fall to 3-12 and 2-5 in the conference following their fifth consecutive defeat.

Western New England College held a slim 28-24 lead at intermission, but built three eight-point leads in the second half, the last coming at 51-43 following two Bayne charity shots with 4:48 left in the contest.

Johnson & Wales rallied behind senior guard Japhet Kerr (Mt. Kisco, NY) who scored seven straight points for the Wildcats to cut the deficit to two (52-50) with 2:12 remaining. He finished with a game high 25 points and five rebounds in a solid performance.

The Golden Bears scored their final eight points (in 10 attempts) from the foul line with Bayne making all four of his shots in the last 1:43.

Western New England College also received a big lift from its bench as freshman guard Chris DeVine (Wilbraham, MA) tallied eight of his season high 10 points in the second half while junior guard Ryan Hernandez (Hampton Bays, NY) added eight points.

Senior center Malik Champlain (Norwich, CT) also played well with eight points and eight rebounds.

The Wildcats received a fine effort from junior guard Tirone McCray (Brockton, MA) who netted nine points along with five rebounds. Junior guard Wacking Nicolas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) contributed seven points and a team high 11 rebounds in a reserve role.