MILTON, Mass. (February 15, 2025) – Led by junior guard Cody Palazzesi, the Western New England men's basketball team fought their way past the hosting Colonels of Curry College on Saturday afternoon. Palazzesi went for 29 points, including five triples on the afternoon, helping WNE come up with a 97-81 victory.

Records:

•   Western New England: 17-6, 13-3 CNE
•   Curry College: 2-21, 1-15 CNE

How it Happened:

Neither team would record a bucket in the first two minutes of the game until Curry would come around to splash the opening three as Francisco Lopez would connect for the Colonels. Andrew Byfield would earn WNE's first bucket of the game on an assist from Jake Harrison while Harrison was on the board with a layup on WNE's next possession, but Curry still held a small early lead. Western New England's first lead of the game at 8-7 when Tim Restall got to the rim to score two at the 15:10 mark of the opening half. That would spark an 8-0 run for WNE, who saw Cody Palazzesi drop back-to-back threes to quickly collect six in the game and gave WNE a 14-7 lead. Western New England would continue to lay it on Curry from there as both Harrison and Restall would get hot from the floor, grabbing Western New England's first double-digit lead of the game. Luka Vlajkovic would provide a spark for the Golden Bears with a layup plus a foul shot on the same sequence, handing Western New England a 23-9 lead with 12:49 to play. Eddie McCoy would get on the scoreboard with a made three, his first points of the afternoon, shortly after. Western New England's lead would hang around 15 for most of the first half, with Curry making a run late in the first half to sink WNE down to ten. The Golden Bears and Colonels would continue to score with Harrison dropping 11 points by the end of the half. Curry would score a triple at the buzzer, dropping Western New England's lead down to seven at the end of the first half, 50-43. Both teams shot well from the floor in the first half, both shooting over 50% from the floor. WNE was 20/40 overall from the floor, hitting just three of their 12 triples. Curry was 16/28 overall from the floor, nailing six of 13 threes. 34 of WNE's 50 points came from inside the paint. Jake Harrison and Tim Restall had 11 points each for WNE. Curry's Jaiden Mann had a game-high 18 points in the first half.

As he did to open the first half, Curry's Francisco Lopez connected on a two-point shot, bringing Curry within five points of the lead after being down by as many as 19 in the contest. The Golden Bears would quickly match the bucket of Lopez and would go on a quick 6-0 scoring run to bring WNE's lead back to double figures, 56-45. Brian Geitner would nail a triple for Western New England in the sequence. The two teams would continue to trade points heading towards the midway points of the second half, with Curry staying in the game despite one win in conference play this season. WNE would lead by 12 with 13:55 to play thanks to the first bucket of the game from Nate Kasper, but Curry would answer with the next four to get Western New England's lead back down to nine. Cody Palazzesi would hit a layup while being fouled, hitting the free throw, bringing WNE's lead back up with 12 with 12:24 to play. The lead for Western New England would continue to linger as Curry would not go away despite 17 points from Palazzesi, 16 from Harrison, and 15 from Restall. Jaiden Mann would have 33 points for Curry with 8:32 to play in the second half to lead the Colonels, but Western New England would cling to a 75-68 lead. Eddie McCoy and Brian Geitner would have points on back-to-back possessions for the Golden Bears following a Curry timeout, giving the blue and gold an 11-point lead, back up to double figures. Western New England would begin to pull away from the Colonels in the final seven minutes of the game as Jake Harrison would grab a hoop followed by three free throws that dropped for Palazzesi, who was up to 20 points on the afternoon. Western New England would take it to Curry in the final three minutes of the game. The Colonels would get within nine with 3:33 to play, but that would be the final bucket of the game for the home team. Cody Palazzesi would hit back-to-back threes to ice Curry and send Western New England to victory, 97-81 over Curry. Palazzesi would finish the afternoon with a career-high 29 points for the Golden Bears.

Inside the Lines:

•       A performance to remember for Cody Palazzesi, who picked up five threes and 29 total points on the afternoon, grabbing four rebounds, three steals, and two assists in the win to lead the Golden Bears.
•       Jake Harrison recorded 22 points on 9/13 shooting, grabbing seven rebounds, five assists, a block, and a steal in the win.
•       Tim Restall (15 pts.) and Brian Geitner (13 pts.) were also in double figures for the blue and gold, leading WNE to victory.
•       Western New England shot 52% from the floor in the win, hitting seven threes, five from Palazzesi, and was 24/28 from the free throw line.
•       Jaiden Mann put up 43 points on Western New England to lead Curry. Mann shot 14/20 overall, hitting six threes, and was 9/10 from the free throw line.
•       Western New England scored 50 points in the paint while Curry had 26 total.
•       The Colonels shot 55% from the field on the afternoon, but it would not be enough to defeat the Golden Bears.

Up Next on the Schedule:

•  Western New England returns to their winning ways with today's victory and will look to put a win streak together heading into conference playoffs as they take on Gordon College on Wednesday, February 19, at 7:30 PM.