Western New England Pulls Away in Second Half for Key 73-64 Win over UNE

Five Golden Bears score in double figures for the third time this season

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 28, 2017) – The Western New England University men's basketball team pulled away down the stretch in the second half on its way to a key 73-64 victory over the University of New England this afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
• Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line to go with eight assists and five rebounds.
• Freshman forward Nana Appiah (Patterson, Calif.) was also among Western New England's five double figure scorers with 14 points, two rebounds, one steal and one block in 20 minutes off the bench.
• Senior guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) totaled 12 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes off the bench, while senior forward Daniel Silva (Seekonk, Mass.) and freshman guard Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) finished with 11 points each.

• Senior guard Jean-Luc Parker (Georgetown, Tex.) scored a team-high 21 points for the Nor'easters while also compiling six rebounds, three assists and one steal.
• Junior guard Drew Coveney (Londonderry, N.H.) added 15 points, five rebounds, four steals and one assist.

Game Review
• Western New England shot just 23% (3-for-13) from the field over the first ten minutes of the contest as the Nor'easters claimed a 15-10 lead midway through the first half.
• The Golden Bears tied the score at 22 on a layup by Silva with 4:17 remaining in the half, before pulling ahead for the first time (29-27) when Gelineau knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:46 on the clock.
• Western New England closed out the half with an 8-5 run and led 35-32 at the break.
• The Golden Bears came away with points on four of their first possessions of the second half, extending their advantage to seven (42-35) at the 15:53 mark.
• Western New England led by the same margin (55-48) after freshman forward Mike McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) knocked down a jumper with 8:11 left in the contest.
• Gelineau connected on a corner three-pointer with just under seven minutes remaining, and Pettway knocked down a mid-range jumper a minute later as the Golden Bears extended their lead into double digits (60-49) for the first time.
• Western New England continued to make shots down the stretch as the Nor'easters were unable to pull closer than nine the rest of the way.

Notes
• Western New England shot 48.1% from the field and 46.7% from beyond the arc while limiting UNE to clips of 33.9% and 28.6%, respectively.
• The Golden Bears recorded 18 assists on 26 made baskets.
• This afternoon's contest marks the third time this season five Golden Bears have scored in double figures - the other two occasions (Jan. 7 vs. Endicott, Jan. 17 vs. Curry) were both Western New England victories.
• Western New England's bench outscored the UNE reserves 30-12.

Up Next
Western New England (4-14, 3-9 CCC) will be back in action on Tuesday at Nichols, while UNE (6-13, 4-8 CCC) travels to Endicott.