WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (January 4, 2024) – The Western New England men's basketball team came around with late buckets in a close, low-scoring affair on Thursday night, defeating the hosting Hawks of the University of Hartford on Thursday night in the second all-time meeting between the two teams and the first since the Hawks transitioned to NCAA Division III. Gavin Greene led Western New England with 17 points in the win.

Records:

• Western New England: 8-4
• University of Hartford: 5-7

How it Happened:
A low-scoring first half would favor Western New England, as the Golden Bears would score the first six points of the game as Mike Resnick, Tim Restall, and Gavin Greene would get on the board early. The Golden Bears would score 17 of the first 19 points in the game to hold on to an early double-digit lead, leading 17-2. Brian Geitner and Matt Houde would get in on the scoring party early for the Golden Bears before the Hawks would stop Western New England's run at the midway point of the first half, grabbing just their second field goal of the game at the 9:59 mark. Brian Geitner would drop a three-ball with just under five minutes to play in the first half to give WNE a 21-10 lead before the Hawks would drop the final six points of the half, dropping Western New England's lead to just a five-point lead, 23-18, at the end of the first half. WNE would drop 11 field goals in the first half, while Hartford managed just eight while shooting 0/10 from distance.

For the second straight game, Western New England would hold the lead for the entirety of the game, as WNE would lead for the full 20 minutes of the second half. Hartford would start the second half with a three-point play when Stephen Akwiwu connected on a layup and a free throw to get within two points, 23-21. Gavin Greene would have something to say about that, getting back-to-back jumpers to fall. Akwiwu would score again for Hartford, this time to get the Hawks within one point of a tie in the game with 16:22 to play in the half. A 5-0 run for WNE would extend Western New England's lead after Jake Harrison connected on a free throw while Matt Houde and Gavin Greene would put up buckets. Strong defense from Western New England would hold the Hawks to under 40 points until the 7:19 mark of the second half, when the Hawks would again get within one point of the tie, though Hartford would not be able to get their first lead of the game and Western New England would again pull away, mounting a seven-point run to go ahead by eight after Mike Resnick would connect from three to give the Golden Bears a 49-41 lead. Hartford would not get within five points on the Golden Bears in the second half down the stretch, as a late run from Tim Restall, Matt Houde, and Cody Palazzesi would put the icing on the game for the blue and gold, and Western New England would be the University of Hartford for the first time in program history, taking down the Hawks by a final score of 63-50.

Inside the Lines:

• Gavin Greene would lead WNE with 17 points on the night, shooting 7/11 from the field while taking down seven rebounds in the win.
• Matt Houde recorded his second game of double figure scoring for WNE in just his second game with the squad, dropping 16 points on 5/11 shooting, knocking home six free throws in the win.
• Tim Restall finished with ten points to round out the three double-digit scorers for Western New England.
• WNE would shoot a tick under 43% for the game while cashing in on just two three-point shots in the win.
• After not recording a free throw attempt in the opening half, WNE was 13/17 from the charity strip in the second half.
• Hartford recorded just 15 field goals in the loss while shooting 23% from the field as a team. The Hawks made just 2/19 three-point field goals.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE returns to CCC play on Saturday, January 6 at 2:00 pm as they head to Curry College.