CHICOPEE, Mass. (November 17, 2015) - The Western New England University men's basketball team sank seven of its eight free throw attempts and got several key stops on defense in the final minute of play to earn an 82-77 non-conference victory over Elms College this evening at Picknelly Arena.
 
The win marks the first career victory for Western New England head coach Colin Tabb, who took charge of the program in August. The Golden Bears improve to 1-2 this season, while Elms drops to 0-3.
 
Trailing 73-72 with under three minutes remaining in the contest, Western New England junior guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) hit the last of his five three-pointers to give the Golden Bears a two-point edge. Elms pulled even at the 2:24 mark on a pair of free throws by senior forward Kadar Lynch (Springfield, Mass.), but Western New England would outscore the Blazers 5-2 the rest of the way to secure its first win of the season.
 
Freshman guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) knocked down two free throws with 49 seconds remaining to put the Golden Bears back in front, and after a steal by senior center Zack Askew (Middletown, Conn.) on Elms' next possession, Pettway was fouled and hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give Western New England a three-point cushion.
 
A Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) layup with 18 seconds on the clock cut the Blazers' deficit back to one (78-77), but Elms was forced to foul and Western New England senior guard Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) wasn't fazed in the clutch situation, converting both free throws.
 
Elms had a chance to tie on a three-point attempt by Smith in the closing seconds, but his shot didn't fall and Gelineau came up with the rebound before icing the game with two more free throws.
 
Gelineau provided an offensive spark for the Golden Bears all night, as he broke out for a game-high 28 points, just one shy of his career-high. The junior shot 7-of-16 from the field, including 5-of-11 from long range and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.
 
Pettway continued his strong play early in the season, dishing out a game-high eight assists to go with 15 points, five rebounds, and two steals, while Askew and junior guard Daniel Silva (Seekonk, Mass.) were both in double-figures as well, combining for 26 points and 12 rebounds. Agrait also had a solid night, totaling eight points and four assists in 29 minutes of action.
 
The Blazers were led by senior guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.), who scored a team-high 24 points despite going just 6-of-20 from the field, to go with five assists and two rebounds. Junior forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) turned in the game's only double-double effort with 12 points and ten rebounds, while Lynch added 14 points and ten boards for Elms.
 
Western New England led by six (44-38) at the break thanks to hot shooting from beyond the arc (7-of-14) and at the free throw line (11-of-12), but Elms scored the first five points of the second half to pull back to within one.
 
The Golden Bears answered with a trey from Agrait and a pair of free throws by Gelineau, and were able to hold the Blazers off until Lynch sank a pair of free throws at the 10:32 mark to tie the contest. Elms used a 6-0 run later in the half to reclaim the lead (61-59), and the teams continued to battle back and forth late with neither side gaining more than a two-point edge until Western New England pulled away in the closing seconds.
 
Led by 29 combined points from Pettway and Askew, the Golden Bear bench outscored Elms' reserves 32-13. Western New England shot 40% (22-of-55) from the field tonight, while hitting 82.4% (28-of-34) of its free throws.
 
The Golden Bears are off until next Tuesday night, when they travel to Danbury, Conn. for a non-conference matchup at Western Connecticut State University. Elms remains at home to host Springfield College on Thursday night.