MILTON, Mass. (February 3, 2026) – The Western New England men's basketball team picked up its seventh straight Conference of New England (CNE) victory on Tuesday night over the Colonels of Curry College, seeing all of Luka Vlajkovic (21 pts., 10 rebounds), Eddie McCoy (17 pts.), Nate Kasper (13 pts.), and Matt Houde (13 pts.) reach double figures in scoring to lead the team to an 81-74 win. 

Records:

• Western New England: 15-5, 9-2 CNE
• Curry College: 5-15, 1-10 CNE

How it Happened:

First Half:

• The first four possessions had a bucket following the opening tip of the game as Matt Houde and Luka Vlajkovic opened the scoring for the Golden Bears, only to be answered by Curry's Jeremiah Predin and Manny Hidalgo. The Colonels opened the game with a quick 7-4 lead before Western New England was back on top 8-7 following an Eddie McCoy layup. McCoy had many looks for the Golden Bears in the opening half as the sophomore got hot from the field quickly, including hitting from the outside just two and a half minutes in, which saw the game already combine for 20 points between the two schools. 
• The two teams continued to exchange buckets in the early going, with neither team able to separate itself through the opening eight minutes of action. Curry picked up back-to-back buckets from James Scali to take a 22-18 lead over Western New England before McCoy answered with a three, already up to 11 points on the night. The midway point of the opening half saw Houde connect from the outside to break a 24-24 tie, which sparked a 7-0 run as Justin Garretston and Vlajkovic contributed offensively. 
• Both teams cashed in from deep four times apiece with seven minutes to play in the half, with Curry starting out 4-of-5 from distance. Curry got back into the game with their outside shooting, seeing a Nathaniel Clemente shot go down to drop Western New England's lead to two, 31-29. Vlajkovic joined McCoy in double figures following a triple and a pair of free throws, seeing the Golden Bears pick up a 36-31 lead. 
• Jason Britschge provided some offense off the bench in the final four minutes of the opening half, while free throws for Western New England at the end of the half gave the Blue and Gold a 43-36 lead at the end of the opening 20 minutes. WNE shot 40% from the field in the opening half, going 5/11 from distance. WNE went to the free throw line 15 times, hitting 12 of their shots. 
• Both Eddie McCoy and Luka Vlajkovic had 13 points each in the first half. Curry's Isaiah Andino led the home team in scoring with 10 points.

Second Half:

• The second half opened at a fast pace, with the teams combining for 14 points in the first two minutes, with Western New England holding the slight 8-6 advantage. Eddie McCoy stayed perfect from the field, draining his third triple to open the half while Vlajkovic picked up a pair of layups and a free throw to give Western New England a 51-42 lead. The score held for two minutes of action as neither team could find a bucket until Nate Kasper broke the drought to push Western New England into a double-digit lead for the first time in the game, 53-42, with 15:28 remaining in the half. 
• Curry's first bucket in over four minutes came from beyond the arc as James Scali continued his impressive shooting to get into double figures in scoring, but the Colonels trailed Western New England by ten with 13 minutes to play in the half. After Curry got within eight following a quick run, the Golden Bears were sparked by an and-one from Nate Kasper, who completed the three-point play with 11:30 left in the half, giving the Golden Bears a 61-50 lead. The Colonels then went on a 7-0 run crossing through the midway point of the half to get right back into the game, trailing by four, 61-57, thanks to Andino, Clemente, and Scali. 
• The Golden Bears found their shooting touch again after Avery Mickens stopped the Curry run with his first two points of the night, while Luka Vlajkovic continued to produce on the offensive end, including from the free throw line, bringing the Western New England lead back to eight with 8:41 left to play. Curry quickly climbed back into the game to trail by four with six minutes remaining before another Western New England run, led by three straight layups from Justin Garretson, putting the Golden Bears back ahead by double digits, leading 76-65. 
• The Golden Bears couldn't put Curry away as the home team still had fight left in them, getting back within four again with 1:35 left, going on a 7-0 run, trailing 76-72. The Golden Bears needed to be clutch at the free throw line late in the game, and were, seeing Matt Houde hit four of his four free throws down the stretch, giving the Golden Bears an 81-74 win.

Inside the Lines:

• Luka Vlajkovic had another double-double in the win, going for 21 points and 10 rebounds. Vlajkovic was nearly perfect from the free throw line, scoring 12 of his points from the line while picking up two assists and a steal in the win. 
• Eddie McCoy hit six of his nine shots in the game, finishing with 17 points, three rebounds, and two assists. 
• Nate Kasper and Matt Houde contributed 13 points each for Western New England, combining to go 8/11 at the free throw line. 
• WNE shot 49% from the field in the game, hitting seven triples and 24 free throws. Curry shot a solid 46% from the field, going 6/15 from deep. The Colonels missed eight free throws overall. 
• Tuesday's win marks nine straight for WNE over Curry. The seven-point win margin is the smallest win for WNE over Curry since 2015 when it was also a nine-point win. 
• WNE has ripped off seven straight wins in CNE action and had four straight overall. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will play host to Gordon College on Saturday, February 6, at 3:00 PM for Senior Day, where they will honor Luka Vlajkovic, Nate Kasper, Matt Houde, Max Jones, and Cody Palazzesi prior to the opening tip of the game.