Western New England Gets Back on Track with 74-70 Win over Endicott

Gelineau leads five Golden Bears in double-figures with 17 points

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 7, 2017) – Five players scored in double-figures as Western New England University got back on track with a 74-70 victory over rival Endicott College this afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
• Senior guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) led the way for Western New England with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Gelineau also recorded four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 32 minutes off the bench.
• Senior forward Daniel Silva (Seekonk, Mass.) added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to go with four boards, three steals and two assists.
• Graduate guard Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) and sophomore forward Tyler Johnson (Vernon, Conn.) scored ten points each while combining for 11 rebounds and six assists.
• Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) rounded out Western New England's five double-figure scorers with 12 points and five assists.

• Endicott senior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) led all players with 20 points to go with three rebounds and three steals.
• Senior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) finished with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Game Review
• Endicott led 11-6 just over five minutes into the contest following a layup by freshman guard Keith Brown (Pelham, N.H.).
• Western New England regained the lead (18-17) on a Pettway layup with 9:12 remaining in the first half, sparking a 10-4 run that saw the Golden Bears open up a 26-21 advantage. Endicott tied the score less than a minute later, but a Silva layup with 5:29 on the clock gave Western New England a 30-28 lead that it would not relinquish for the remainder of the half.
• Gelineau connected from beyond the arc with 43 seconds remaining as the Golden Bears claimed their largest lead of the half (45-37), but Walker answered with a trey on the other end as Western New England held a five-point advantage at halftime.
• Pettway, Johnson and Gelineau all knocked down jumpers as part of a 6-0 run early in the second half, giving the Golden Bears their largest lead of the contest (51-40).
• Endicott slowly began chipping away at its deficit, as the Gulls pulled to within six (56-50) on a triple by senior guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) with 13:02 remaining, but Western New England was able to stretch its lead back to nine (65-56) on a Johnson layup at the midpoint of the half.
• A 12-2 Endicott run over the next six minutes, capped by Walker's traditional three-point play at the 4:07 mark, allowed the Gulls to regain a 68-67 edge.
• Agrait answered with a three-pointer on Western New England's next possession, however, giving the Golden Bears the lead for good. After several key defensive stops that included a Pettway block on a Walker three-point attempt, Agrait drained a pair of clutch free throws to make it a two-possession game (72-68) with 21 seconds left.
• Motroni answered with two free throws on the other end, and after Pettway missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 12 seconds remaining, Endicott had a chance to tie or take the lead on its final possession. Senior forward Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) was off the mark with his corner three-point attempt in the closing seconds, and Agrait grabbed the defensive rebound before sealing the contest with two more free throws. 

Notes
• Western New England tied its season-low with ten turnovers, and the Golden Bears scored 18 points off Endicott's 16 miscues.
• The rebounding battle was even with each team grabbing 35 boards. Western New England utilized a balanced effort with five players recording at least four rebounds.
• Western New England's win snapped a nine-game losing streak dating back to November 19.  

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday, as Western New England (2-10, 1-5 CCC) hits the road to take on Roger Williams and Endicott (10-3, 5-1 CCC) travels to Salve Regina.