SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 8, 2025) – Western New England men's basketball graduate student Tim Restall came up with a nearly full-court heave to close out the first half of play on a high note, while Jake Harrison continued his dominant play on the hardwood with his third straight double-double, leading the Golden Bears past the hosting Bison of Nichols College by a final score of 81-60.

Records:

• Western New England: 16-5, 12-2 CNE
• Nichols College: 11-10, 8-6 CNE

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears got off to the start they were looking for in a home contest, converting buckets on their first two possessions of the game with Tim Restall hitting from inside the lane while Andrew Byfield tossed up a triple from Cody Palazzesi, giving WNE a quick 5-0 lead. Western New England had the first ten points in the game as Brian Geitner joined in on the scoring party with a three-ball while Restall quickly had another layup as WNE forced a quick Nichols timeout. WNE led 19-3 just six minutes into the game as Jake Harrison would knock down a pull-up jumper, beginning his good play on offense. The Golden Bears would hold onto their double-digit lead through the midway point of the first half, though the Bison would cut WNE's lead down to ten after Javen Flowers-Smith would connect from three with 10:31 to play. Harrison would answer for the Golden Bears with the next five points while Cody Palazzesi would help extend WNE's lead back up to 17 with a jumper, seeing the Golden Bears take a 30-13 lead. Western New England's lead would grow to as many as 22 in the first half as Luka Vlajkovic got in on the scoring party with a tip-in layup, giving WNE a 44-22 lead with 2:19 to play. Nichols would miss a layup on their final possession of the first half while Tim Restall would grab the rebound, take a dribble, and send the ball down from three quarters court and hit the shot at the buzzer, adding three more points to the WNE total, giving Western New England a 47-24 lead at the break. The Golden Bears were 20/26 from the field in the opening frame, going 6/10 from the outside, shooting 55% overall from the field. Nichols shot just 33% from the floor in the opening half, going 3/14 from distance.

Western New England opened the second half on a quick 5-0 run that got their lead up to 28 after Jake Harrison and Brian Geitner were on the scoreboard again. Nichols would look to get back into the game with a small 6-0 run of their own, quickly dropping WNE's lead down to 20 with 15:38 to play. Four straight free throws would fall for the Golden Bears, ending the Bison run. Cody Palazzesi and Nate Kasper would pick up points for the Golden Bears from the line. From there, the Bison would again find their offense, dropping the Western New England lead down to 16 with still 11:54 to play, forcing a timeout. WNE would respond following the timeout and would come up with a 7-0 run, as Tim Restall, Jake Harrison, and Eddie McCoy would be in on the scoring for the blue and gold that brought the lead back over 20 points, leading 65-42. Western New England would continue to take it to the Bison as Harrison, Palazzesi, and Restall would lead the way on offense, leading to a 21-point Western New England victory, 81-60.

Inside the Lines:

• Jake Harrison put together his third straight double-double in the win, putting up 21 points and 14 rebounds in the win to go along with four assists overall. Harrison had 56 points, shooting 23/31 from the field, 46 rebounds, and 14 assists over his last three games.
• Cody Palazzesi scored a career-high 20 points for WNE in the win, going 7/12 overall from the field, collecting three assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
• Tim Restall was sparked by his massive three-point shot to end the first half, finishing the game with 19 points on 9/15 shooting, grabbing ten rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
• As a team, Western New England shot 52% from the field, hitting seven threes and ten free throws.
• The Golden Bears held the lead from the start of the game and never lost it.
• Nichols was led by both Simon Percy and Javen Flowers-Smith, who both had 18 points for the Bison. Nichols shot 39% from the field and hit just five of their 22 threes.
• The Golden Bears blew over the Bison in rebounds, grabbing 45 to Nichols's 28.
• Western New England had now won their last two games over Nichols away from home.

Up Next on the Schedule:
·      After a week of road contests this week, the Golden Bears return home to take on the Rams of Suffolk University on Tuesday, February 11. Suffolk is one of just two CNE teams to defeat WNE this season in conference play.