SPRINGFIELD, Mass. â€" Senior forward Deon Thomas (Albany, NY) had a double double coming off the bench with a season high 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Western New England College to a 78-55 victory over visiting Suffolk University Tuesday night (Jan. 9) in a battle of unbeaten Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball teams.

Junior point guard Asif Abdul-Wadud (Springfield, MA) also had 14 points along with four assists as the Golden Bears moved over the .500 mark at 6-5, including a 3-0 record in the conference.

Junior forward Jim Bayne (Bristol, CT) contributed 12 points and nine rebounds while sophomore guard Matt Maynard (Paterson, NJ) had 10 points, all in the second half.

Western New England College jumped to a 38-18 half-time lead before the Rams connected on several three-pointers to get within 48-37 less than six minutes into the second half. WNEC led 54-42 with 9:10 remaining before pulling away down the stretch.

This was a season high point total for the Godlen Bears who had netted a previous best of 75 in an overtime win over Westfield State in the Pioneer Valley Men's Hoop Classic on December 2.

Senior guard Brad Schoonmaker (Southington, CT) led the Rams with 14 points while junior forward Chris MacDonald (Brewster, MA) had 12 points. Suffolk's leading scorer senior guard John Murphy (North Reading, MA) missed the contest with an injury.

Suffolk falls to 3-7 overall and 2-1 in the GNAC.