SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 15, 2025) – Down by as many as ten in the opening half, the Western New England men's basketball team looked to junior Luka Vlajkovic on Wednesday night to provide the offense, in which Vlajkovic would respond with a career-high 23 points off the bench to help WNE complete a comeback and defeat the Fighting Scots of Gordon College 89-77 in Conference of New England (CNE) play.

Records:

• Western New England: 11-3, 7-0 CNE
• Gordon College: 6-8, 2-5 CNE

How it Happened:

Jake Harrison would connect on a spot-up three-ball to open the first possession of the game for the Golden Bears, who had the early 3-0 lead on Gordon. Brian Geitner would quickly get on the scoreboard in an emphatic way, slamming home a dunk on an assist from Tim Restall, while the graduate student would then connect on a triple, giving the Golden Bears an 8-4 lead. Gordon would score the next six points of the game as Western New England's hot stop would quickly fizzle. Alex Daniel and Bryce Smith would heat up from the floor as Daniel would cash in a jumper, followed by a triple, both assisted by Smith, giving the Fighting Scots a 15-12 lead with 14:27 to play in the opening half. Western New England would get their lead back after Luka Vlajkovic would get on the board for the first time in the game, finding an opening underneath the basket and getting a pass from Nate Kasper to finish for two at the rim. The two teams would exchange points before Eddie McCoy would fire up a triple that would sink with 8:10 left, which gave WNE a four-point lead. That lead would not last long as the Fighting Scots would lead the charge on a 14-0 run in a two-minute span, seeing Western New England's four-point lead turn into a ten-point deficit for the home team. Vlajkovic and Jake Harrison would have the final shots for Western New England in the first half, which saw the Golden Bears trail by seven after 20 minutes of play, 37-30. Gordon shot well from the floor in the opening half, shooting 16/30 overall and 3/6 from distance. Western New England shot just 37% from the floor while the team stuck just 3/15 triples in the half.

Gordon would get their double-digit lead back just two minutes into the second half when Bryce Smith continued to be a threat both as a sharpshooter and playmaker for the Fighting Scots, hitting from distance to give Gordon a 46-36 lead. Cody Palazzesi would answer for the Golden Bears, however, sticking a three on a feed from Jake Harrison. WNE would get Gordon's lead down to five with five minutes of elapsed time past in the second half. Brian Geitner would begin to heat up from the floor for the blue and gold while Western New England's defense would begin to turn up their pressure on Gordon's sharpshooters. Eddie McCoy would hit his second three of the night at the 12:13 mark of the second half that gave WNE their lead back, taking it 55-53. The Golden Bears would use a 13-0 run on Gordon to see Gordon's seven-point lead turn into a six-point lead for WNE in a span of just under three minutes of play. Luka Vlajkovic would hit a layup while being fouled, also hitting the free throw. Matt Houde would hit five quick points for WNE, including a three, giving Western New England a 61-55 lead. Gordon would hold within four points for just a short time before the Golden Bears opened their lead to double digits, thanks to hoops from Luka Vlajkovic and Nate Kasper, seeing WNE lead 69-59 with 7:01 remaining. Despite a quiet night, Tim Restall would throw down a big dunk that extended WNE's lead to 14 points, which would be enough for the Golden Bears to seize the victory. Luka Vlajkovic would have the dagger for Western New England with a three-ball with 1:35 remaining, which gave the Golden Bears an 83-71 lead while the Golden Bears would hold on to a 12-point lead and come away with an 89-77 victory to remain unbeaten in conference play.

Inside the Lines:

• Luka Vlajkovic led the scoring for the Golden Bears with a career-high 23 points off 10/17 shooting, going 2/6 from deep. The WNE junior also picked up five rebounds, three steals, and an assist in the win.
• Brian Geitner and Jake Harrison were both in double figures in scoring on the night. Geitner picked up 18 points on 7/15 shooting while Harrison dropped ten points and has ten rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
• Western New England shot 66% from the floor in the second half, going 22/33 while hitting 6/12 threes in the half.
• Gordon saw four of their own pick-up double figures in scoring, led by Ryan Brooks, who had 20 points on 9/13 shooting, grabbing five rebounds and two assists. Bryce Smith had an unconventional double-double for Gordon, getting 15 points and 12 assists in the game. The Fighting Scots shot just 36% from the floor in the second half.
• This is the third straight win for Western New England over Gordon in the series. WNE has picked up at least 85 points over Gordon in their last three games.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England plays host to Curry College on Saturday, January 18, at 3:00 PM from the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center.