BOSTON, Mass. (January 31, 2024) – Western New England men's basketball senior Brian Geitner cashed in seven times from deep, totaling 27 points on the night, leading the Golden Bears to a road victory on Wednesday night over the Rams of Suffolk University.

Records:

• Western New England: 15-5, 10-2 CCC
• Suffolk University: 11-8. 7-5 CCC

How it Happened:

Coming off their first loss in ten games, the Western New England men's basketball team looked to get back in the win column to maintain a top spot in the CCC standings, traveling to Suffolk University, a team that the Golden Bears handled with ease on their home floor less than a month ago. After a slow start offensively for both teams, Tim Restall opened the scoring for the Golden Bears to even the score at two with 16:32 to play in the first half. Suffolk would quickly extend their lead to five points, taking a 7-2 lead five minutes into the game. Restall collected the first four points of the game for WNE, breaking the 5-0 run for the Rams, while Nate Kasper came away with his first two points of the night in the pain on a layup, as the game would see the score move to 7-6 in favor of the hosts with nearly seven minutes of time elapsed. Western New England would grab their first lead of the game at the 11:07 mark of the half when Matt Houde connected on a jumper inside the key, which would help the Golden Bears score six straight points to take the lead. Suffolk responded with ten straight points following a made layup by Gavin Greene, seeing Jake Gomez drop five of Suffolk's ten on the run, giving the Rams a 21-14 lead. The Golden Bears and Rams would go back and forth in scoring, with Brian Geitner scoring six straight points for WNE, dropping a three-ball and a layup plus a foul to get WNE within three points before Suffolk's Nick Verdile responded with a three of his own. Geitner would catch fire, sinking his second three of the night with 4:16 to play, cutting Suffolk's lead to four. The Golden Bears would use an 8-0 run to retake the lead with 2:22 to play in the opening half. Both teams would find nets in their final possession of the first half, with Jake Harrison converting a layup while Danny Yardemian getting to the lane for two, giving Suffolk a two-point lead at the half. Brian Geitner led Western New England with nine points in the opening half, as Western New England would shoot 11/19 inside three-point range, while Yardemian led all scorers with ten points in the half. Suffolk shot 42% from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

Mike Resnick opened Western New England's first possession of the second half with a triple, sinking Suffolk's lead to one that would quickly be erased by Gavin Greene's made layup inside the paint as the Golden Bears took a 37-36 lead, their first lead of the second half. Suffolk would grab their lead back as the two teams would go bucket-for-bucket. Brian Geitner would continue to stroke it from distance, splashing his third three of the night to give Western New England a 42-40 lead. With 14:30 to play in the half, Yardemian would give Suffolk a three-point lead at 48-45, though it would quickly be wiped to an even score when Geitner found nothing by net again, his fourth three of the night, to tie the score at 48. Geitner scored nine straight points for the Golden Bears, cashing in on three three-point field goal attempts as Western New England took a six-point lead, their highest lead of the game. Cody Palazzesi would end WNE's run at 11-0 with a layup of his own as WNE led 56-48 with 9:28 to play in the half. Andrew Byfield would come alive off the bench for the Golden Bears, sinking eight straight points for Western New England in a span of 1:13 of game time, dialing up two threes and a layup in the paint, giving the Golden Bears their first double-digit lead of the game. WNE extended their lead to 16 at 67-51 on yet another three from Brian Geitner, who finished the night with seven three-point baskets on 12 attempts. Down the stretch, Western New England's lead would grow to as many as 20 points after Matt Houde dropped a layup while getting fouled and completed the three point play. The
Golden Bears would weather a late comeback from Suffolk and take an important CCC victory, defeating Suffolk by a final score of 78-63.

Inside the Lines:

• Brian Geitner dropped 27 points on the night, a career high, shooting 9/17 from the field, including 7/12 from deep. The senior scooped two rebounds and a steal in the win.
• Tim Restall contributed his first double-double of the season, scoring ten points while ripping down ten rebounds.
• The Golden Bears shot just under 52% from the field, including 58% in the second half.
• WNE was 8/12 from three in the second 20 minutes of play.
• The WNE bench scored 44 of the 78 points on the night, while WNE scored 40 points in the paint and 16 points off ten Suffolk turnovers.
• Danny Yardemian led Suffolk with 24 points on the night, shooting 10/19 from the field.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will return to the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center on Saturday, January 3, at 3:00 pm, welcoming Curry College to Springfield.