Box Score BIDDEFORD, Maine.--Sophomore Mike Gelineau scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, including a key three-pointer late in the contest, and senior co-captain Musa Elsir added 12 points and a game-best nine rebounds as Western New England University used a strong second half to defeat host University of New England, 69-63, in Commonwealth Coast Conference men's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Forum on Sunday.

Graduate co-captain Nick DeFeo matched Elsir with 12 points for the Golden Bears, who have won two-straight and three of their past four contests to improve to 6-11 overall and 4-6 in the CCC standings. Junior Gerald McDonald chipped in nine points off the bench.

Junior Devin Thompson (7 rebounds, 3 blocked shots) and Mano Senthil led UNE with 12 points apiece while sophomore Jean-Luc Parker posted 11. The Nor'easters fall to 5-12 on the season and 3-7 in the conference.

With Western New England up 58-57 and looking at an in-bounds play, Gelineau (7 rebounds) curled off a screen and drained a trey from the left wing with 7 seconds on the shot clock to give the Golden Bears some breathing room with 95 seconds left in the game. Western New England made seven of nine free throws down the stretch to seal the triumph.

Western New England dominated the paint and the glass. The Golden Bears outrebounded UNE 40-33 and had 25 second-chance points thanks to 19 offensive boards as well as a 26-14 scoring margin on points in the paint. The Nor'easters committed only 11 turnovers but WNE made the most of those miscues to the tune of 18 points.

The Big Blue advantage reached five on three occasions (28-23, 30-25, and 40-35) during the initial stages of the second frame, but an 8-2 spurt, including six from Gelineau, gave WNE an edge, 43-42 at 10:15, for the first time in more than 16 minutes of action.

Western New England outscored the hosts by 11 points (34-23) over the final 13 minutes, after trailing for more than half of a contest that also featured 14 lead changes and five ties.

Down by one, 49-48, with a little more than eight minutes to go, WNE used a 10-2 stretch to take advantage for good. UNE countered on its next two trips with treys from Parker and Thompson to get back within one, 58-57, at the 2:53 mark, but Gelineau stuck his key three-pointer to make it a two-possession game late.

Big Blue got to within three, 62-59, with 58 seconds left on two free throws by sophomore Matt Lettick (9 points 7 rebounds), but could not draw any closer. The Golden Bears' cushion shifted between four and six points several times in the waning seconds.

Six straight points late in the first period established a seven-point margin, 25-18, for the Nor'easters, before Gelineau hit from deep and Elsir put back an offensive rebound in the closing moments to slice the gap to 25-23 at the half.

Now with a split in the season series, the Golden Bears move one game in front of the Nor'easters and avenge a tough 60-58 loss on Jan.13 in Springfield.

The Golden Bears hit the road on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.) for a CCC tilt at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. UNE visiting Endicott College

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(Editor's note: UNE Sports Information Office contributed to this game recap.)