BOSTON, Mass. (February 17, 2024) – The Western New England men's basketball team was turned aside on the road this afternoon, dropping a CCC contest to Wentworth Institute of Technology in the final regular season game of the 2023-2024 season.

Records:

• Western New England: 18-7, 12-4 CCC
• Wentworth Institute: 14-11, 9-7 CCC

How it Happened:

Western New England looked to close out the regular season on a high after dropping their regular season finales on the road in the past two seasons. Western New England would star slow on offense, going 0/3 and 0/2 from deep, though Wentworth would match that, starting off the game 0/3 and 0/1 from deep. Tim Restall and Gavin Greene scored the first two buckets of the game for the Golden Bears, though Wentworth would open the game with 14 of the first 20 points to take an early 14-6 lead. WNE's Matt Houde would catch a hot hand early, scoring six points to get Western New England back in the game, though Wentworth would capitalize on a three-ball to take an eight-point lead again with 7:01 to play in the opening half to take a 21-13 lead. WIT's Sam Goy drilled a three from deep to give the Leopards their first double-digit lead of the game with five minutes to play. From there, Western New England would turn up their offense, with Brian Geitner getting on the board with a three, while the final eight of ten points in the half would fall WNE's way, with Greene, Geitner, and Restall all scoring inside the paint, seeing WIT's ten-point lead sink to a three-point lead at the break. WNE shot just 39% from the field in the first half and just 1/8 from three.

Despite the low shooting numbers, the Golden Bears came alive in the second half, holding Wentworth off the scoreboard for the first 4:11 while coming away with the opening seven points to start the half. Matt Houde buried a jumper and a three, while Tim Restall finished off WNE's run to give the Golden Bears a four-point
lead at 34-30. Wentworth's Sam Goy would come around and score a layup plus a foul shot to even the score quickly, not letting Western New England come away with much momentum. Wentworth would see the Golden Bears take a six-point lead after Tim Restall's elbow jumper from the free throw line went down with 10:30 to play, giving WNE a 44-38 lead. Western New England would cling onto the lead as the game began to wind down, getting an important three-ball from Brian Geitner with 5:25 to play after Jake Harrison found the senior on an assist, which gave Western New England a 53-47 lead. After exchanging hoops, Geitner would come around with another three, which gave WNE a 58-51 lead with 3:46 to play. Wentworth would find their stride late in the contest, seeing senior Tyler Stewart record his 1,000^th career point as a member of the Leopards, as Wentworth's big man would finish off an 11-0 run by the Leopards with eight of the 11 points, which quickly gave the Leopards the four-point lead with 1:06 to play. Harrison would knock down one of two free throws for the Golden Bears, though Wentworth would convert on their free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice, going on a 15-1 run to close out the game and defeat the Golden Bears by a final score of 66-59.

Inside the Lines:

• Despite the loss, the Western New England men's basketball team had locked up the number two seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament.
• Four Golden Bears recorded double figures in scoring, with Tim Restall (15 pts.) leading the way. Matt Houde (13 pts.), Brian Geitner (11 pts.), and Gavin Green (10 pts.) finished out with double figures for WNE.
• Western New England shot 7/15 from the free throw line in the loss and turned the ball over 12 times.
• Tyler Stewart led Wentworth with 24 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
• WNE shot 42% from the field, though made just four threes on 17 attempts. 42% is the fourth-lowest shooting total of the season.
• The Golden Bears put up 59 points for the second straight game this season, their second-lowest total of the year.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will host a CCC quarterfinal game on Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. against seventh-seeded Curry College. WNE is 2-0 this season against Curry, defeating the Colonels 86-72 on the road and 94-59 at home.