Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 9, 2021) - Coming off of their first win of the year, the Golden Bears Men's Basketball team returned to action against Worcester State earlier this evening when the Golden Bears came up short 82-74.
Records:
- Worcester State: 1-1
- Western New England: 1-1
How It Happened:
Worcester State struck first on a three from Corey Olivier. In their next possession, Lancers forward Ryan Rubenskas was called on a charge and the Golden Bears capitalized as Brian Geitner sunk a mid-range jump shot afterwards. Kenny Flynn blocked Erik Bjorn's attempted layup in the following possession. Bjorn would make a layup in the Lancers next possession, but Gavin Greene would follow with a three-point jump shot and a la up in the next Golden Bear possession. Ryan Rubenskas then made a field goal assisted by Corey Olivier to tie the game at 7. After a loose ball foul from Alex Sikorski, Erik Bjorn would slam one in to make it 9-7. After another failed possession from WNE, Chris Cardozo would sink a 3 forcing a WNE timeout. After the timeout Greene would made a layup to cut the lead down to three. A steal by Geitner gave the Bears the ball back and Greene score the ball to cut the lead to one. Geitner sank a three assisted by Jake Harrison on the wing after a few scoreless possessions to give the Golden Bears a 14-12 lead. Soon after, Cardoso would make another basket to tie the game again. After a foul by Marcus McCarthy, Tim Restall went on to sink two free throws. After another Cardoso layup, the game would be tied again at 16 apiece. After a few eventless possessions, Otis Wheeler Jr. fouled Steevens Phelimond on an attempted three that resulted in one made free throw. Cardoso was then fouled at the other end of the court by Phelimond which gave him the opportunity to make two free throws to give the Lancers a one-point lead. Harrison was fouled by Cardoso on a shot attempt and made one of two free throws. After a Bjorn layup, Kenny Flynn made a three at the top of the key. Bjorn then returned and made another layup. Another layup, this time from Zion Hendrix, gave Worcester State a three-point lead at the 7:27 minute mark. Greene was fouled by Tyler Spencer underneath the basket and made one of two free throws to put WNE within two. After a failed possession from Worcester, Geitner crossed up his defender at half court and drove in for a mid-range jumper to tie the game. Another attempt to score by Worcester was unsuccessful and the Golden Bears would turn to Brian Berritto to sink a three giving them the lead and causing a Lancers timeout. After the timeout, WNE stopped the Lancers on defense and pushed the ball back down the court. Berritto tossed a dime to Greene who was under the basket for two more points. An offensive charge call on Corey Olivier would give WNE the ball back quickly but they could not convert. Dylan Crowley then fouled Chris Cardoso who would make both free throws making the score 29-26 WNE. Corey Olivier sank a shot at the elbow to give two points back to the Lancers. Geitner got the ball back on the other end and laid it in for another two points. Bjorn would then foul Geitner under the basket looking for a rebound giving him two free throws where he would sink one. Another made shot from Olivier put the Lancers within two, but Harrison found a cutting Greene to put the Golden Bears back up 34-30 with 3:14 left. Sam Dion would get the Lancers back to within one with a three pointer at the top of the key with 2:29 remaining. Greene responded with his own three pointer 19 seconds later to put the Golden Bears up 4. Restall powered his way to the basket with one minute remaining for two points and Otis Wheeler Jr. would make a field goal just ten seconds later to bring the score to 39-35. After a foul by Keegan Sharp, Restall would sink two free throws. The half would end with the score 41-38 Golden Bears after Sam Dion hit a three with 20 seconds remaining.
The Golden Bears shot 45.2 perfect (14-for-31) from the field in the first half compared to the Lancers 39.5 percent (15-for-38). The Golden Bears made eight free throws in the first half and also had more steals, blocks, bench points, and fast break points than the Lancers. Worcester State out rebounded WNE 23 to 18 in the first half.
WNE started the second half with the ball and Geitner drilled a three on a pass from Sikorski. The Lancers did not score on their next possession and neither did the Golden Bears as Greene stepped out of bounds underneath the basket. A steal by Geitner on the next Lancer possession left the Lancers looking for points yet again but WNE could not convert either. Greene nailed a three to put the Golden Bears up by nine. Cardoso made a layup and Olivier made a jump shot to bring the Lancers back within five, which forced WNE to take a timeout. After four failed possessions between the two teams, Kenny Flynn was fouled trying to put back a missed shot. Flynn made one of two shots before Cardoso made another layup and Greene responded with one of his own. Another field goal made by Wheeler Jr. put the score at 49-46 in favor of WNE at the 15:08 mark. Cardoso then found Rubenskas to put Worcester within one, and following that Greene drew a foul on Rubenskas to put him at the line but he would come up empty handed. Restall fouled Bjorn and he would make two free throws as a result. Restall would bounce back however, finding Greene under the hoop for two points. On the other end of the court, Harrison fouled Wheeler Jr. and he made both free throws given to him. After an offensive charge call on Bjorn, the Golden Bears capitalized with Sikorski finding Crowley for a three pointer on the wing to put them up by two. Bjorn powered his way to the basket to tie the game, but Flynn answered with a three pointer at the top of the key. Olivier sank a mid-range jumper on the base line at the 9:35 minute mark to make the score 57-56. Worcester State called a timeout. Flynn missed a three after the timeout and Olivier would sink a jumper to give Worcester the lead. Hendrix hit an up and under layup with 7:56 remaining to push the Lancer lead to three. Cardoso would shake his defender and sink a mid-range jumper to make the score 62-57. WNE called a timeout and after Greene inbounded the ball and eventually got the ball back and drew a foul from Tyler Spencer. Bjorn would then steal the ball back, but Flynn would block his shot attempt at the other end of the court. Sikorski then sank a mid-range jumper and the score would go to 62-59. Cardoso drew a foul while making a layup to make the score 65-59. Sam Dion would then sink a three after the Golden Bears failed to convert giving the Lancers a nine-point lead with 5:06 left to play in the game. Flynn then drew a foul on Bjorn sending him to the line where he would make both. Solid defense from WNE prevented the Lancers from scoring on their next possession keep the score at 68-61. Greene hit a floater to get the Golden Bears with five before Dion found Rubenskas for two points. Flynn would then get called for an over the back and send Bjorn to the line, but he would miss his free throw and foul Geitner trying to get his miss. Geitner would then make the first shot of his one-and-one attempt and sink the second attempt as well. With 2:23 left to play, Rubenskas would make his way to the basket for two more points making the score 72-65. Flynn stole the ball on the next Lancer inbound and took it down for two points, putting WNE within five. Cardoso would be fouled next time down the court by Harrison and went on to make both free throws. After a traveling call on Worcester State, WNE called a timeout with 1:19 remaining in the game. Geitner hit a three on the inbound play and a charge was called on Cardoso while he was trying to move up the court. The Golden Bears would then turn the ball over resulting in a basket by Rubenskas and a foul called on Geitner. Rubenskas missed the free throw and Sikorski missed a three on the other end. Cardoso would then make two free throws after being fouled in the back court and Rubenskas would also make a trip to the line after being fouled with 20 seconds left. Rubenskas made both to make the score 80-70. Sikorski then pushed the ball down the court and was fouled at the rim drawing two free throws. Sikorski sank both but it was not enough to stop the Lancers. Cardoso would hit one more shot at the end of the game to make the final score 82-74.
Inside the Numbers:
- As a team, the Golden Bears shot 35.7 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from beyond the arc and 65.2 percent from the free throw line compared to the Lancers who shot 41.3 percent from the floor, 26.3 percent from three and 88.2 percent from the foul line.
- The Golden Bears also tallied 39 rebounds, 16 assists, nine steals and three blocks in the game.
- Gavin Greene led the Golden Bears with 25 points and earned seven rebounds while Brian Geitner notched 18 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
- Kenny Flynn led the team in rebounds with nine while also earning 11 points.
Up Next:
The Golden Bears hit the road Friday, November 12th to Quinnipiac for an exhibition game at 4 p.m. Their next true game will be on Tuesday, November 14th when they head to Westfield State for a 7:30 p.m. tip.
