SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 2, 2024) – The Western New England men's basketball team grabbed a home victory on Monday night from the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center over the Bison of Nichols College, defeating Nichols for the first time on home court since 2020, seeing Tim Restall collect his third double-double of the season while Brian Geitner dropped 22 points overall to help the Golden Bears to victory.

Records:

• Western New England: 5-3, 1-0 CNE
• Nichols College: 2-4, 0-1 CNE

How it Happened:

The Bison would hold the early edge in the conference opening game for both teams. Simon Percy picked up the first hoop for Nichols to open the game while Jake Harrison was on the scoreboard first for Western New England on a layup. Nichols would hold a two-point lead after Dominic Mello splashed a three while Oliver St. Louis was on the board for two quick hoops, giving Nichols an 8-6 lead. WNE's first lead of the game came from an Andrew Byfield layup on a pass from Tim Restall, who sank two free throws on the possession before. The two teams would stay even until Western New England would get hot from the floor with 11:43 to play in the first half. The Golden Bears would go on an 8-0 run, sparked by a four-point play from Cody Palazzesi, who picked up a pass from Luka Vlajkovic and was able to sink a triple while being fouled, also hitting the free throw. The WNE junior would come up with six points on the run, forcing a Nichols timeout, leading 20-12. Two three-point shots for Nichols would get the Bison close as sharpshooters Darrell Hardge and Ethan Minarik would connect from outside. The Golden Bears would build momentum following as Brian Geitner would pick up a pass from Harrison and would finish at the rim while being fouled to give WNE a 29-20 lead with 6:55 still to play. Tim Restall gave the Golden Bears their first double-digit lead of the game, 32-22, after connecting on a layup. Nichols would not score for the final 6:28 of the first half, allowing Western New England to go on an 11-0 run to end the half that would give the blue and gold a commanding 39-22 lead after 20 minutes of play with 20 minutes remaining. Nichols made just nine field goals in the opening frame, hitting three triples overall. Western New England was successful from down low, shooting 15/33 overall and connecting on 7/8 free throws in the first half.

Cody Palazzesi opened the second half with a three for the Golden Bears, giving WNE their largest lead of the night, a 20-point edge, 42-22. Just a minute later, Brian Geitner would drop a pair of free throws that saw Western New England's lead increase to 22 points, which would be their largest lead of the night overall. After a quick start for the Golden Bears, Nichols would begin to build momentum in the game, led by Javen Flowers-Smith, who put together his third 20+ point outing of the season. The Nichols junior would drop Western New England's lead down to 16 with still 16:23 to play in the second half. Brian Geitner would break up Nichols' run with a big three-point shot that would shoot WNE's lead back up to 19. The Bison would dip WNE's lead down to 12 with a 7-0 run in just 1:30 before Geitner would hit another dagger triple for the Golden Bears with 13:03 to play, giving WNE a 52-37 lead. The three-point shot would spark Geinter's third three of the half, and an 8-0 run for the Golden Bears would grow WNE's lead back to 20 with ten minutes remaining in the half. Western New England's lead would flutter around the 20-point mark, seeing Luka Vlajkovic earn four quick points to put WNE ahead 68-45 with 5:36 to play. Nearly down and out, the Bison would come back to get with 11 again as Javen Flowers-Smith would bring Nichols back, though it would be too late as Western New England would open conference play with a victory, defeating Nichols College on home court for the first time in five tries, 77-64.

Inside the Numbers:

• Brian Geitner led Western New England in the game with 22 points overall, including three massive triples in the second half, shooting 7/17 overall from the floor while grabbing four rebounds, two assists, and one steal overall.
• Tim Restall registered his third double-double of the year, going for 19 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 7/13 overall while picking up three assists and three steals.
• Cody Palazzesi was also in double figures on Monday with 11 points, cashing in twice from distance, picking up three rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
• WNE had 42 points in the paint over Nichols while the Bison put up just 28.
• Nichols was led by Javen Flowers-Smith, who collected 22 points on 9/18 shooting, going 3/7 from deep.
• The two teams have split the last six meetings, with WNE coming away with a victory on home court over Nichols for just the third time in 16 games overall.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Conference of New England play will continue for Western New England on Wednesday, December 4, at 7:30 PM as the University of Hartford visits Springfield.