Western New England Falls to Amherst in Ken Wright Invitational Championship, 73-61

Pettway & McGuire named to All-Tournament Team

AMHERST, Mass. (November 18, 2017) – The Western New England University men's basketball team fell to Amherst College, 73-61, in the championship game of the Ken Wright Invitational Tournament on Saturday afternoon at LeFrak Gymnasium. 

The Golden Bears led for the majority of the first half, and held a 51-50 edge with under nine minutes remaining in the contest before the Mammoths used a 14-1 run to take control of the game.

Junior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) and sophomore guard Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) were both named to the All-Tournament Team for the Golden Bears, while Amherst sophomore forward Eric Sellew (Carlisle, Mass.) earned Tournament MVP honors.

Top Performers
• McGuire led the Golden Bears with a team-high 15 points to go with five rebounds, two steals and one assist.
• Pettway posted a double-double with 12 points, ten assists and seven boards, while freshman forward Zach Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) finished with 11 points, six rebounds, two blocks and one steal.  

• Sellew led the Mammoths with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line to go with nine rebounds.
• Freshman guard Grant Robinson (McLean, Va.) registered a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, while senior guard Michal Riopel (Nassawadox, Va.) added 14 points, nine boards, two steals and one block. 

Game Review
• Western New England took its first lead (7-6) on a three-pointer by McGuire at the 15:38 mark of the first half, and the Golden Bears held a five-point edge (20-15) following an EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) trey midway through the period.
•  A triple from Tavitian with 8:44 remaining gave Western New England its largest lead of the game (23-17), but the Mammoths pulled even at 26-26 when Sellew completed a traditional three-point play at the 6:05 mark. Amherst closed out the half with a 7-0 run to claim a 38-36 lead at the break.
• After falling behind by six (44-38) and calling a timeout five minutes into the second half, Western New England embarked on a 10-2 run to regain a 48-46 edge.
• Another Day three-pointer at the 11:19 mark put the Golden Bears ahead by three (51-48), but Amherst sophomore Tommy Mobley (West Newton, Mass.) connected from beyond the arc with 8:28 remaining to give the Mammoths the lead for good. Mobley's trey was part of a 14-1 run that saw Amherst establish a 62-52 lead with 4:09 on the clock, effectively sealing the contest.

Notes
• Western New England shot 32.3 percent (21-of-65) from the field, while Amherst connected at a 41.5 percent (27-of-65) clip.
• The Mammoths outrebounded the Golden Bears 52-30.
• Day and fellow freshman Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn.) combined for 17 points off the Western New England bench.

Up Next
Western New England (1-2) is off until next Sunday, when the Golden Bears play their fourth straight road game to open the season at Becker College. Amherst (2-0) travels to Westfield State on Monday.