SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 11, 2025) – The Western New England men's basketball team was doomed by a late four-point play by the visiting Rams of Suffolk University as Suffolk would walk away with a 65-64 victory from the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center on Tuesday night.

Records:

• Western New England: 16-6, 12-4 CNE
• Suffolk University: 15-7, 11-4 CNE

How it Happened:

Western New England jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the opening two minutes of the game after Tim Restall got in the lane and scored the first bucket for WNE while Cody Palazzesi came up with a three on the next possession for WNE. Suffolk did not let WNE's lead sit for long, making a quick comeback on back-to-back possessions on offense to tie the game. The two teams would go bucket for bucket down towards the halfway point of the opening half. Brian Geitner would hit a jumper while Suffolk's leading scorer this season, Keenan Robertson, would begin to heat up, causing havoc for the Golden Bears. Nate Kasper would provide some offense on the night for Western New England, joining in on the scoring with 11:31 to play in the half, giving the Golden Bears a 16-12 lead. WNE would lead by as many as seven with 9:17 to play after Geitner would strike from distance, which gave WNE a 22-15 lead. Eddie McCoy would add a bucket for Western New England that raised the lead to eight. Down the stretch heading into the final four minutes of play in the half, Kasper would continue his offensive work, scoring seven first-half points. Suffolk's Robertson came away with ten points for the Rams in the first half, but Western New England would hold a 33-30 lead after one half of play. Western New England was 11/26 from the field in the opening half, going 3/7 from distance. The Golden Bears made just eight of their 12 free throws, however. Suffolk shot 45% overall from the floor and made three triples. They also poorly executed their free throws, going 7/15 overall.

Suffolk opened the second half on their biggest scoring run of the game, opening the half on a 10-2 scoring run, getting back-to-back threes from Robertson, giving Suffolk a 40-35 lead, and forcing a timeout from the Golden Bears. Western New England would respond with the next four points, all coming from the free throw line by Tim Restall. Jake Harrison would come alive in the second half and would have a bucket to tie the game at 43 with 12:37 remaining on a layup. WNE would take the lead back with 10:15 to play after Nate Kasper would continue to shine for the Golden Bears, getting a layup to go on a pass from Luka Vlajkovic and also hitting the free throw, giving WNE a 51-50 lead. The two teams would continue to go down the stretch hitting shot for shot with neither team getting bigger than a three-point lead for the remainder of the game. Robertson would hit a layup for Suffolk with 7:36 remaining in the game to put the Rams ahead by three, 58-55. Western New England would respond with the next five points, including a three from Cody Palazzesi, giving Western New England a 60-58 edge. Following a made three by Nick Verdile, Jake Harrison and Tim Restall would have the next four points for WNE, which gave the blue and gold a 64-61 lead with 3:04 remaining. That score would hold until the final six seconds of the game when Keenan Robertson would hit from three while also being fouled, nailing the ensuing free throw, giving Suffolk a 65-64 lead. WNE would draw up a three pointer in the corner for Brian Geitner on the final play of the game which would circle the rim and roll out and the buzzer would sound, ending the game in favor of the Rams for the second straight time this season. Western New England would fall in conference play for just the third time this season, dropping the game 65-64.

Inside the Lines:

• Suffolk's Keenan Robertson's late three and foul shot would be four of his game-leading 27 points on the night to lead all scorers.
• Nate Kasper had 14 points on the night, a new career high, shooting 4/8 from the field and was 6/7 from the free throw line. Kasper filled the stat sheet with four rebounds, two steals, and an assist on the night.
• Tim Restall also went for 14 points for WNE while collecting his eighth double-double of the season with ten rebounds.
• Jake Harrison scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Golden Bears on the night.
• Western New England shot 40% overall from the field, making just five of their 18 three-pointers on the night.
• Suffolk was 46% from the field on the night, going 8/18 from deep. The Rams downfall of the game was their free throw percentage, shooting just 9/20 from the line.
• The game featured 12 lead changes on the night while the score was tied nine times overall.
• This is the third straight win for Suffolk over Western New England in their 19 all-time meetings, including back-to-back wins in Springfield.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will look to quickly rebound on Saturday, February 15, at 2:00 PM, taking on Curry College.