Western New England Falls to Springfield College in Season Opener, 88-70

Pettway nets team-high 24 points, grabs team-best six boards for Golden Bears

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 15, 2017) – The Springfield College men's basketball team pulled away from Western New England University in the second half on its way to an 88-70 win on Wednesday evening in the season opener for both teams at Blake Arena. 

Top Performers
• Junior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears, scoring a team-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, while sinking all three of his free throw attempts. Pettway also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and dished out two assists.
• Freshman forward Zach Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) scored 15 points in his collegiate debut on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from long range, to go with three boards, two blocks, and one steal.
• Freshman guard EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) recorded 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

• Springfield sophomore guard Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) posted a strong all-around effort with game-highs in both points (26), rebounds (13) and steals (three) to go with three assists and two blocks.
• Sophomore forward Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.) also registered a double-double with 18 points and ten boards, while senior guard Andy McNulty (West Springfield, Mass.) added 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Game Review
• Pettway made his first three shots, and sophomores Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) and Cole Eiber (Albertson, N.Y.) both drained three-pointers as Western New England led 12-8 at the 14:15 mark of the first half. The Golden Bears held their largest advantage of six (17-11) following a layup by sophomore Tim Reilly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) with 11:46 remaining.
• Western New England led by the same margin (27-21) after a Day layup with 6:33 on the clock, but the Pride pulled to within one (27-26) when Ross completed a traditional three-point play just over a minute later.
• Ross scored six straight points, including a pair of breakaway dunks, as part of a 16-0 Springfield run late in the half that saw the home team open up a 43-31 lead. Pettway connected from long range at the buzzer to cut Western New England's deficit to nine (43-34) at the break.
• The Golden Bears were able to stay within striking distance early in the second half with the help of seven points from Tavitian, including a three-pointer at the 13:47 mark that brought the visitors back to within ten (55-45).
• Springfield answered with a 7-0 run, however, and the Pride eventually led by as much as 22 (76-54) following a pair of Ross free throws with five minutes remaining. Day scored five points down the stretch as the Golden Bears cut the final margin to 18.

Notes
• Western New England shot 41.7-percent (25-of-60) from the field, while Springfield connected at a 50-percent (32-of-64) clip.
• The Pride outrebounded the Golden Bears 43-29.

Up Next
Western New England (0-1) will be back in action on Friday night against MCLA at the Ken Wright Tournament, hosted by Amherst College. Springfield (1-0) continues its three-game homestand next Tuesday, when the Pride host Keene State.