Golden Bears Use Second Half Run to Defeat Curry, 78-60

Day leads WNE with 18 points, Tavitian adds 16

MILTON, Mass. (February 8, 2018) – The Western New England University men's basketball team posted a 15-0 run midway through the second half on its way to a 78-60 victory over Curry College on Thursday evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Katz Gymnasium.

Top Performers
• Freshman guard EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Golden Bears with a game-high 18 points, six rebounds, three steals and one assist in 22 minutes off the bench.
• Freshman forward Zach Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) made 6-of-8 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws en route to a 16-point, seven-rebound effort.
• Sophomore guard Cole Eiber (Albertson, N.Y.) matched his career-high with 13 points and also recorded six rebounds, one assist and one steal, while junior Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) contributed 12 points, four boards, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes of action.

• Curry was led by freshman guard Akhari Goodridge (Cambridge, Mass.), who scored a team-high 13 points to go with four assists and three rebounds.
• Sophomore Jared Thorpe-Johnson (Dorchester, Mass.) was the only other Colonel in double-figures with ten points and six boards.

Game Review
Western New England held a 30-27 edge at halftime and led 45-41 after Thorpe-Johnson completed a three-point play with 13:27 remaining in the contest.

The Golden Bears took control of the game over the next four minutes, however, as they put together a 15-0 run to establish a 60-41 cushion with 9:51 to play.

Day fueled the run with six points, including four straight free throws to get it started. Eiber contributed five points, while Killeen capped the surge with an offensive rebound and a layup.

Western New England led by as much as 24 (72-48) on a Pettway layup with 4:27 on the clock, before going on to post an 18-point triumph.

The Golden Bears were ahead 14-9 early, but the Colonels utilized a 12-2 run to claim their largest lead of the game (21-16) with 7:25 left in the half.

Western New England pulled even (25-25) when sophomore Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) went 3-for-3 at the charity stripe at the 2:43 mark, and the visitors eventually held a three-point advantage at the break with the help of two free throws from Pettway in the final seconds of the half.

Notes
• Western New England limited Curry to 30.6 percent (19-of-62) shooting from the field.
• The Golden Bears scored 26 points off 18 Colonel turnovers.
• Western New England has won its last nine games against Curry, dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (10-12, 6-9 CCC) returns home to host Nichols and Curry (1-21, 0-15 CCC) travels to Roger Williams.