Western New England Overpowers UNE on Senior Day, 111-89

Seven Golden Bears score in double figures, led by Day (24)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 17, 2018) – Seven Golden Bears posted double-figure scoring efforts as Western New England University registered a 111-89 victory over the University of New England on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. 

Western New England honored senior guard Anthony Service (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) prior to the start of the game.

Top Performers
• Freshman guard EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Golden Bears' offensive outburst with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Day also recorded five rebounds, three steals and one assist.
• Classmate Zach Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) totaled 18 points, eight boards, six assists and two blocks, while sophomore Tim Reilly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) contributed 14 points, seven rebounds three assists and one steal.
• Freshman Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and sophomores Cole Eiber (Albertson, N.Y.) and Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 points each, while junior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) finished with ten points, seven rebounds and six assists.

• UNE junior guard Daron Hoges Jr. (West Orange, N.J.) made 5-of-7 three-point attempts on his way to a team-high 15 points for the Nor'easters.
• Senior Gavin Dibble (Greenport, N.Y.) and sophomore Jackson McCoy (East Montpelier, Vt.) scored 11 points each, while freshman Matt Lorman (Rutland, Vt.) added ten.

Game Review
Leading by ten at halftime, Western New England had its advantage trimmed to two (63-61) following a layup by UNE freshman forward Andrew Marcelino (Methuen, Mass.) that capped a 10-2 run for the Nor'easters 4:20 into the second half. 

The Golden Bears responded with a 9-0 run of their own, stretching their lead back to 11 (72-61) on a Sikorski triple at the 13:52 mark.

UNE stayed within striking distance and trailed by just eight (86-78) after Lorman hit a three-pointer with 6:13 left in the contest, but the visitors would get no closer.

Western New England went up 14 (99-85) on another Sikorski trey with 2:57 remaining, and the Golden Bears continued to pull away down the stretch on their way to a 22-point triumph.

UNE led 5-0 just over a minute into the contest, but Western New England answered with a 13-0 run and didn't trail the rest of the way.

The Golden Bears claimed a ten-point advantage (44-34) on an alley-oop from Tavitian to Sikorski with 6:16 remaining in the first half, and they went on to lead by the same margin (61-51) at the break.

Notes
• Western New England shot 50.7 percent (36-of-71) from the field, including 56.8 percent (21-of-37) in the first half.
• The Golden Bears outrebounded the Nor'easters 50-38 and recorded 23 assists on 36 made field goals.
• The freshmen trio of Day, Tavitian and Sikorski combined for 54 points.

Up Next
Western New England (11-14, 7-11 CCC) finishes the regular season tied for seventh place in the CCC standings, but the Golden Bears will enter next week's CCC Tournament as the No. 8 seed due to a tiebreaker. WNE will take on No. 1 seed Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. UNE (12-13, 10-8 CCC) earns the No. 5 seed, and the Nor'easters will be on the road at No. 4 Roger Williams in the first round.