Eastern Nazarene Tops Western New England, 74-61

Aina records nine points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench

QUINCY, Mass. (February 8, 2017) – The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team posted a 12-0 second half run and held off Western New England University down the stretch to earn a 74-61 victory this evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Lahue Physical Education Center.

Top Performers
• Freshman forward Mayo Aina (Providence, R.I.) recorded nine points, nine rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block in 17 minutes off the bench.
• Senior guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) was the lone Golden Bear in double figures with ten points to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) finished with eight points, six assists, two rebounds and one steal.

• Senior guard Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) led Eastern Nazarene with 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while also tallying nine rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.
• Senior forward Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) registered a double-double with 21 points and 12 boards in 28 minutes of the bench.

Game Review
• Pettway led the way for the Golden Bears early, scoring five of the team's first ten points as Western New England forged a 10-6 lead just under six minutes into the contest.
• Eastern Nazarene pulled back ahead (19-18) on a layup by Lynch with 7:19 remaining in the half. Graduate guard Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) connected from beyond the arc with 2:50 on the clock as the Golden Bears claimed a two-point edge (27-25), but the Lions closed out the half with a 5-0 run and led 30-27 at the break.
• After three lead changes early in the second half, Western New England claimed a 38-35 advantage on a layup by freshman forward Nana Appiah (Patterson, Calif.).
• Eastern Nazarene knotted the score at 38-38 on a three-pointer by freshman Josh Rice (Hanson, Mass.) at the 15:28 mark, which sparked a 12-0 run that saw the Lions open up a 47-38 cushion with 13:02 remaining.
• Western New England began to chip away at its deficit and managed to pull to within three (51-48) with 8:42 left, but the Golden Bears were unable to fully close the gap.
• A 10-3 Eastern Nazarene run over the next 2:38 gave the home team a ten-point lead, and the Lions would go on to win by 13.

Notes
• Western New England shot 32.4% from the field and 29.6% from beyond the arc, while Eastern Nazarene posted marks of 52.5% and 35.7%, respectively.
• The Lions out-rebounded the Golden Bears 47-32 and scored 46 points in the paint to Western New England's 20.
• Eight different Golden Bears scored at least five points.

Up Next
Western New England (5-17, 3-12 CCC) returns to action on Saturday at Curry, while Eastern Nazarene (10-12, 7-8 CCC) travels to the University of New England.