SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 25, 2025) – For the first time in conference play, the Western New England men's basketball team dropped a home contest, this time coming to Wentworth Institute of Technology, as the Leopards used a dominant first half to hold on late and defeat the Golden Bears by a final score of 69-64 from the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Records:

·      Western New England: 12-5 8-2 CNE

·      Wentworth Institute of Technology: 6-11, 5-5 CNE

How it Happened:

The Leopards started the game just as they had hoped, grabbing a triple from Nathaniel Smith after winning the opening tip to come away with the early lead. Cody Palazzesi had the answer for Western New England, rattling home a three of his own to quickly tie the game. Wentworth had the next five points in the game and seven of the next nine overall, which saw the visitors take a 10-5 lead early. Both teams were successful from the floor in the first ten minutes of the game, trading hoops to keep the game close as Andrew Byfield would stick a three of his own for the Golden Bears. Wentworth would begin to pull away with a small, yet effective, 5-0 run as Tyler Stewart and Nathan Brinkman would collect hoops to give the Leopards a 17-10 lead with 12:57 to play in the first half. Western New England picked up their own 5-0 lead as both Jake Harrison and Tim Restall got on the scoreboard for the first time in the game. Eddie McCoy's three with 9:16 to play in the half gave WNE their first lead of the game on an assist from Nate Kasper. The two teams would stay close until the Golden Bears would quickly go ice cold from the field, allowing Wentworth to go on a 9-0 run and lead the first half 34-25. WNE's final point came with 6:42 to play in the half, allowing for the big Wentworth run. Wentworth shot a strong 13/25 in the first half, going 5/11 from deep. Western New England shot 10/25 from the field and 4/13 from deep in the half.

The Golden Bears would break Wentworth's run to start the second half as Jake Harrison would get to the lane and score. Wentworth's Jack Connel would heat up in the second half and would give WIT their first double-digit lead of the game after hitting a three-ball. Scoring would be scarce to open the second half as Wentworth held a 42-33 lead with 13:30 to play. After Luka Vlajkovic got to the cup for two, Wentworth would get back-to-back hoops from Tyler Stewart, regaining Wentworth's double-digit lead. The Golden Bears would come around and get Wentworth into foul trouble, going on a scoring run, led by Luka Vlajkovic, Matt Houde, Tim Restall, and Jake Harrison, who dropped Wentworth's lead down to four with 5:46 to play, 49-45. Brian Geitner had his first two of the afternoon with 4:17 to play in the second half after an ice-cold shooting day. Wentworth would lead by 11 with 2:48 to play after another run that featured another three from Connell, as WIT looked to have the game in hand, 61-50. Western New England would fight back as Harrison and Retsall picked up the next four WNE points while a big three-point shot from Matt Houde would get the crowd back into the game, seeing Western New England trail 62-59. The Leopards would next get a layup to go up by five points before a free throw from Restall, a turnover from Wentworth, and a steal from Geitner would result in another three from Houde, getting WNE back within one point with 21 seconds left to play in the thriller. Wentworth would go down and hit just one of two free throws with 13 seconds left. After a kickball, WNE would retain possession but would turn the ball over with three seconds to play while Wentworth would ice the game with the final two free throws of the game from Connell, stunning the Golden Bears and crushing their hopes at a comeback bid, giving Wentworth a 69-64 victory.

Inside the Lines:

·      WNE nearly came back from a double-digit deficit with under two minutes to play, though their last-second heroics would fall just short.

·      Four Golden Bears were in double figures as Cody Palazzesi led the way with 14 points on 5/12 shooting and 4/9 from deep. Jake Harrison came off the bench for the first time since his freshman year on Saturday, producing 11 points, hitting 5/6 free throws while grabbing nine rebounds. Matt Houde and Tim Restall both had ten points for WNE.

·      The two teams battled on the glass, with Western New England taking the advantage 33-27.

·      Wentworth turned the ball over 18 times in the win. The Leopards were sparked by Jack Connell, who had 22 points on the afternoon. Tyler Stewart and Nathan Brinkman were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

·      The Golden Bears hit just 12/19 free throws, to their demise on the afternoon.

·      This is the fourth straight time in which the teams have split the season matchups, going 1-1 against each other. This is the first home loss for WNE against Wentworth since 2020.

Up Next on the Schedule:

·      WNE will look to end their two-game CNE losing streak with a matchup at Hartford on Tuesday, January 28, at 7:30 PM.