WESTFIELD, Mass. - The veteran coach had the edge on his former player and assistant as Springfield College defeated Western New England College 68-61 in the second day of action at the Pioneer Valley Men's Hoop Classic Saturday evening (Dec. 6) at the Woodward Center on the Westfield State campus.

The contest was a reunion between long-time SC coach Charlie Brock and WNEC rookie coach Chris Agoglia who played for Brock and served as an assistant while attending Springfield.

Junior guard Ryan Blackman (Stamford, CT) was the difference scoring a game-high 26 points (which included 4-of-5 three-pointers) as the Pride improved to 5-2.

Springfield raced to a 30-18 halftime lead and upped the margin to 18 at 38-20 early in the second half before the Golden Bears staged a comeback.

Western New England College closed within five at 58-53 on a dunk by sophomore forward Brad Tomka (Springfield, MA) with 2:41 remaining.

Blackman, however, scored on a layup a minute later for a seven-point margin and WNEC couldn't close the gap.

SC had two other players scoring in double figures as junior forward Pat Crean (Sleepy Hollow, NY) netted 13 points and senior guard Danny White (Melrose, NY) 11 points.

Senior guard Matt Maynard (Paterson, NJ) led the Golden Bears with 16 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Sophomore center Michael Kennedy (Newtown, CT) added 12 points while senior forward Kyle Fredette (Wallingford, VT) contributed 10 points. Both players pulled down eight rebounds.

Sophomore guard Paul Kennedy (Longmeadow, MA) proved a lift off the bench with eight points.

Playing in only his second game of the season, Tomka finished with six points and five rebounds in a reserve role.

Junior guard Rick Johnson (Springfield, MA) dished out a game-high five assists.

Western New England College falls to 1-6.

In the second game, Tournament MVP Brian Baskauskas poured in a career-high 30 points to lead Amherst College to a 90-59 victory overWestfield State. The Lord Jeffs, ranked 10th nationally in the d3hoops.com poll, remain perfect with a 6-0 record. The Owls are 5-2.