Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 7, 2021) – The Golden Bears' men's basketball team hosted conference foe Gordon this evening to cap off the fall semester and the Golden Bears came out victorious 87-85 to earn their first CCC win of the season.
Records:
- Western New England: 3-6, 1-2 CCC
- Gordon: 2-2, 1-2 CCC
How It Happened:
The first half was easily matched of the jump with the game being tied three times in the first four minutes of play. At the 15:20 mark, the Fighting Scots went on a 5-0 run to lead 16-11 until Brian Geitner made a three at the 13:58 mark to keep the Golden Bears within two. The game was then tied 16-16 off a Brian Berritto layup before the Golden Bears took the lead 18-16. The Fighting Scots then scored 11 unanswered points to earn their largest lead of the game 27-18 with 8:50 left in the first half. The Golden Bears took a timeout and after gathering themselves, Geitner came out and hit a three on the very next possession. Gordon responded with their very own three that began the trading of baskets. At the 5:11 mark, Alex Sikorski made a three to jumpstart the Golden Bears 9-0 run that got them back within three (37-34) with just 3:47 left in the half. Gordon closed out the half with eight straight points where the Fighting Scots led 48-36 heading into the break.
Western New England began the second half with six points in a row before Gordon was able to get back on the board. The two teams began the back-and-forth action until the Golden Bears went on a 7-0 run to tie the game 59-59 with 13:23 left in the game. After seven more points for Western New England gave them their largest lead of the game 66-59 capped by a three from Mookie Lester. The back-and-forth action began again with neither team able to score more than four points consecutively until the Golden Bears hit a three followed by a layup to take their lead to nine (76-67) with 7:37 left to play. The Golden Bears led 86-79 with just 2:10 left in the game when Gordon fought for six straight points to get within one (86-85) with just 48 seconds left. A free throw by Lester in the final seven seconds of the game solidified the win for the Golden Bears to earn their first conference win of the season 87-85 over Gordon.
Inside the Numbers:
- As a team, Western New England shot 42.2 percent from the field, 29.6 percent from three, and 64.3 percent from the foul line while tallying 48 rebounds, 20 assists, 11 steals and six blocks.
- Alex Sikorski led the scoring with 18 while Geitner earned 14 points and Jake Harrison tallied 13 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
- Off the bench, Tim Restall tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds to complete the double-double while Lester hit 12 points and Kenny Flynn recorded 10.
Up Next:
The Golden Bears return to play after the holiday break when they travel to conference rival Endicott on January 4th at 5:30 p.m.
