SPRINGFIELD, Mass. â€" Junior forward Jim Bayne (Bristol, CT) and junior Ryan Hernandez (Hampton Bays, NY) each scored 16 points as Western New England College defeated visiting Albertus Magnus College 69-54 for its ninth consecutive victory Tuesday night.

Bayne, who now has 996 career points, also hauled in nine rebounds while Hernandez once again provided a big lift coming off the bench by connecting on 4-of-7 three-pointers.

The Golden Bears improved their record to 17-7 and finished first in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a 14-2 mark. WNEC will be the top seed in the conference tournament that begins next Tuesday (Feb. 20).

Western New England College held a 35-27 advantage at half-time and led by as many as 21 points in the second half before the Falcons cut the margin to 11 (62-51) with a little more than four minutes remaining the game. WNEC scored the next five points to hold off the pesky visitors.

Junior guard Asif Abdul-Wadud (Springfield, MA) added 13 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the Golden Bears while freshman guard Chris DeVine (Wilbraham, MA) had nine points in a reserve role.

Albertus Magnus sophomore forward Bobby Leonzo (East Haven, CT) had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard John Donahue (Southington, CT) dished out 10 assists for the Falcons (2-21, 2-12 GNAC).