SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 11, 2026) – The Western New England men's basketball team never trailed in Wednesday's Conference of New England victory over Roger Williams University, getting production from Avery Mickens (17 points) and Eddie McCoy (13 points) while Jason Britschge (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Travis Mangual (8 points, 3/3 FG) sparked the bench in a dominant 89-63 victory over the Hawks. 

Records:

• Western New England: 17-5, 11-2 CNE
• Roger Williams University: 11-11, 7-6 CNE

How it Happened:

First Half:

• The Golden Bears had the opening seven of nine points to begin the opening half, with Matt Houde, Eddie McCoy, and Avery Mickens scoring early. Roger Williams started slowly from the field to Western New England's benefit. The two teams exchanged triples, with Nate Kasper hitting for the Golden Bears while Ashton Leclerc dropped one down for the Hawks, seeing WNE lead 10-6 four and a half minutes into the game. 
• Western New England quickly took a double-digit lead with Will Laplante III knocking down a shot of his own from the outside with just under 12 minutes left in the opening half that saw the Golden Bears take an 18-8 lead. Jason Britschge lifted the crowd with a dunk on an assist from Luka Vlajkovic to get on the scoreboard, giving WNE a 22-12 lead. 
• The Hawks brought Western New England's lead down to six points after back-to-back buckets inside the paint, but the Golden Bears had the answer, going on a 14-0 run, with Matt Houde, Vlajkovic, Britschge, and McCoy all contributing down the stretch that pushed Western New England's lead to 20, 36-16 with 3:15 remaining in the half. 
• Roger Williams had a pair of triples to close out the opening half, while Britschge finished off his excellent opening half with a layup as the Golden Bears took a 38-22 lead after the opening half. 
• WNE shot 60% from the field in the first half, going 15/25. Western New England was near perfect in the opening half inside the paint, going 10/12 overall. Roger Williams hit just eight field goals of their own, three from the outside. 

Second Half:

• With the game well in hand already, Western New England continued to pour it on the Hawks when Avery Mickens opened the second half with a pair of triples, scoring Western New England's first eight points in the half overall. Mickens and Nate Kasper combined for the opening 12 points for Western New England to open the first three minutes, seeing the WNE lead touch 22 with 16:52 remaining.
• Western New England blew the game wide open when Will Laplante III started an 8-0 run with a triple, capped off by more Mickens magic, getting to the rim with ease to put the Golden Bears ahead by 27 points, 61-34. Before the midway point of the half, Western New England went on another scoring run to put the game away for good when Travis Mangual got hot from the field, smashing a dunk and hitting a three-point play that saw the Blue and Gold take a commanding 34-point lead, 71-37, with 10:01 to play in the game. 
• Roger Williams got hot from the field to break WNE's 37-point lead back down to 27, but it would not be enough. Down the stretch, Western New England saw Jason Britschge come away with a new career high while Justin Garrestson, Drezell Duffaut, and Oscar Morales contributed offensively, seeing the Golden Bears come away with an 89-63 victory over the Hawks. 

Inside the Lines:

• Western New England suffocated the Hawks with their ten three-pointers made while shooting 55% from the field in the game. 
• Avery Mickens led Western New England with 17 points on 7/11 shooting, while grabbing two rebounds and an assist. 
• Eddie McCoy was perfect from the field, going 5/5 from the floor, 3/3 from deep. McCoy also collected five rebounds, an assist, and a steal in the win. 
• Jason Britschge put together a career-high of 12 points on 5/6 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds in the win.
• Nate Kasper had a quiet 11 rebounds and six assists for the Golden Bears in 27 minutes of action. 
• Roger Williams hit 11 three-pointers in the game, taking over half their shots from beyond the arc. Ashton Leclerc led RWU with four triples and 12 points, while Ty Higgins was 5/7 from the field and 2/4 from the outside. The Hawks shot just 36% from the floor in the game. 
• Wednesday's win marks the sixth win in a row for Western New England over Roger Williams, including a pair of wins this season, coming within the last 30 days.

Up Next On The Schedule:

• WNE men's basketball heads on the road to take on Wentworth Institute of Technology, a rematch game that took a buzzer-beating shot to send the Golden Bears to victory over the Leopards on their home floor in the last meeting less than a month ago. The two teams clash one final time this season on Saturday, February 14 at 2:00 PM.