SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 1, 2025) – The Western New England men's basketball team collected their first Conference of New England tournament trophy in their program history on Saturday afternoon, coming up with a memorable and historic 75-74 victory over the Rams of Suffolk University. Cody Palazzesi led the way for WNE with 26 points in the championship clinching game. 

Records:

• No. 1 Western New England: 21-6
• No. 3 Suffolk University: 20-8

How it Happened:

Suffolk would come with the win on the opening tip of the game and scored, as Danny Yardemian would start hot from the field for the Rams. Cody Palazzesi had an answering bucket just 35 seconds later as the game would stay close for much of the first half. The two teams exchange the first 17 points of the game with Keenan Robertson contributing heavily for Suffolk early, making it hard on the WNE defense. Brian Geitner would nail his first three of the game while Andrew Byfield had a dunk that brought the crowd to life on an assist from Jake Harrison, giving WNE a 11-8 lead. Suffolk came storming back with Yardemian and Robertson taking over the show, putting a mini 6-0 run together to get the Rams in front by three. Western New England responded to take a one-point lead with 12 minutes left in the opening half, seeing Luka Vlajkovic get on the board with a layup. The two teams stayed close through the midway point of the opening half. Following, Suffolk would begin to put together a run that saw Keenan Robertson and Jake Gomez contribute on the offensive end for the Golden Bears, taking a 26-20 lead with 7:46 to play. Cody Palazzesi stopped the run with a triple for Western New England, but Suffolk would answer with a deja-vu moment as Robertson would hit a three while being fouled, collecting a four-point play, putting Suffolk ahead 30-23 with 6:33 to go. Tim Restall would shine next for the Golden Bears, collecting the next four points, erasing the Robertston four-point play quickly and getting WNE back within three. A Jake Harrison layup and foul shot would again bring the crowd to life, getting WNE back within two, 32-30 with 4:21 to play in the first half. Suffolk would continue to answer as Nick Verdile splashed his first three of the game while Danny Yardemian would follow with three more for the Rams on their next possession, seeing Suffolk take their largest lead of the game, 40-32, with 2:50 left in the half. Western New England would battle back, including picking up two free throws in the dying seconds of the opening half from Palazzesi, which shrunk Suffolk's lead to 42-38 with one half to go. Suffolk was 17/28 in the first half, shooting over 60% from the field. The Rams were 4/9 from deep and 4/4 at the free throw line. Western New England shot just 41% in the opening half and were a gruesome 3/16 from the outside. Their 11/11 free throw shooting kept them alive. 

Robertson had the first two points of the second half, picking up right where he left off. Cody Palazzesi had the first five points for Western New England in the half, getting the blue and gold back within three just two minutes into the second half. WNE continued to climb but Suffolk would have the answers as Robertson and Gomez picked up hoops to maintain Suffolk's seven-point lead with 15:54 left. The Golden Bears would storm back and take their first lead of the second half when Brian Geitner and Cody Palazzesi combined for back-to-back triples with 12:09 left, giving the Golden Bears a 55-54 lead. WNE would come around for a four-point lead after Luka Vlajkovic would pick up another pass from Jake Harrison and use the glass to score the layup, seeing WNE's highest lead of the game, four, hit the scoreboard, 60-56. The battling Rams would not go away in the championship game, getting timely hoops from Yardemian and Gomez. Tim Restall had six straight points overall for the Golden Bears with six minutes left that gave WNE a 66-60 lead. Despite the late lead, Suffolk would again come back and tie the game on a jumper from Robertson, evening the score at 66. Palazzesi and Robertson exchanged buckets with under three minutes to play, again tying the game at 68. With 1:01 to play, Suffolk nabbed a two-point lead which would quickly be erased by a massive three-point shot from Palazzesi with 51 seconds left, giving WNE a 73-72 lead. Robertson would again give Suffolk the lead, this time by just one point after canning two free throws, giving the Rams a 74-73 lead. With 26 seconds left, Palazzesi would connect on two free throws of his own, shifting the lead back to Western New England with 26 seconds left. On the ensuing Suffolk possession, Nick Verdile would come up short on a jumper while Jake Harrison would grab the rebound and send it the ball to Brian Geitner who would be fouled with six seconds to play in the game. Geitner would get a one-and-one from the line but would come up short as the ball circled the rim and bounced out. Suffolk's Cole Levangie would grab the rebounds with three seconds left, send out a pass to Yardemian, who found an open Robertson, who took one dribble and rose up for a shot at the horn but the shot would come just tenths of a second too late despite the ball dropping into the hoop and Western New England would become 2024-2025 Conference of New England Champions. 

Inside the Lines:

• A clutch performance from junior Cody Plazzesi would lead the way for the Golden Bears. Palazzesi shot 9/17 from the field, collecting 26 total points, was 4/9 from distance and a perfect 4/4 at the free throw line. 
• Tim Restall shined with 16 points on 4/7 shooting, collecting nine rebounds and four assists in the game. 
• Brian Geitner was also in double-figures for Western New England, coming up with 13 points, including three triples, three rebounds and an assist. 
• An incredible tournament run for Suffolk's Kennan Robertson would end with the conference's Most Outstanding Player in the tournament come up with 36 points on 12/17 shooting, going 2/5 from three and 10/11 from the free throw line. Robertson hauled in four rebounds, two assists, and a block. 
• Suffolk would be doomed by their three-point shooting in the second half, going 0/7. 
• The Rams shot just 39% from the floor in the second half after going for over 60% from the field in the first half.
• Western New England shot 50% in the second half, going 5/10 from deep. 
• The contest featured 13 lead changes and ten ties overall. 
• WNE defeats Suffolk in the tournament this season after Suffolk bounced the Golden Bears on their own court in the semifinals last season. 
• Suffolk was 2-0 this season against the Golden Bears.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England awaits their selection into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Conference of New England championship. WNE will get the auto-bid into the tournament. The section show will be held on Monday, March 3 at 1:00 PM.