Sikorski Guides Golden Bears Past Springfield on Opening Night

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 5, 2021) – The Golden Bears men's basketball team opened the 2021-22 season hosting cross-city rival Springfield College where the Golden Bears soared to an 80-68 first win.

Records:

• Western New England: 1-0
• Springfield College: 0-1

How It Happened:

Neither team was able to score in the first almost two minutes of the game before the Pride broke the streak with a three to take a 3-0 lead early. A 5-0 run by the Pride later gave them an 8-2 lead before the back-and-forth action began with the Golden Bears slowly chipping away for the Pride's lead. After the Golden Bears got within one (9-8) at the 14:00 minute mark, the next basket was not scored again until the 11:23 with Jake Harrison breaking the slump with a layup to give Western New England their first lead of the game 10-9. The Pride quickly answered on their next possession to take back the 12-10 lead before the teams began trading baskets once again. A 5-0 run for the Golden Bears put them ahead 17-15 only for Springfield to tie the game 17-17. The back-and-forth action began once again with the lead changing two times. Brian Geitner recorded a layup at the 5:40 mark to put the Golden Bears within one (24-23). The Pride extended their lead to 26-23 with a pair of free throws before Geitner struck again followed by Alex Sikorski to put Western New England ahead 27-26. The Golden Bears later went on an 8-0 run to take a 35-28 lead with just 1:27 left in the half. The Pride ended the half with four straight points to put the Golden Bears ahead 35-32 at half.

Springfield scored the first basket of the second half only motivating the Golden Bears for a 6-0 stretch that started with a dunk by Kenny Flynn that erupted the gym to extend their lead 41-34. Back-to-back baskets for Springfield kept the game close while the Golden Bears continued to try and extend their lead. Western New England took momentum for a 6-2 run before the two teams began trading points. A big three for the Pride at the 11:23 mark kept them in the game only trailing the Golden Bears 49-45. Another basket by Springfield to get within two forced the Golden Bears to reset in a timeout only up 49-47. After the timeout the Golden Bears put together a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 58-47 with only 8:39 left in the game. The Pride fought to get back within six (59-53) at the 7:17 mark putting the Golden Bears into their second timeout. The two teams traded baskets before the 6:00 minute mark hit, and the Golden Bears rallied for seven unanswered points to lead 68-55 with 5:19 on the clock. A 7-0 comeback run by the Pride put them back within six (68-62) with plenty of time left in the game. The Golden Bears held onto their lead and extended it to ten (72-62) with just 1:45 left starting the Pride to foul in order to regain possession. With all of the free throws, the Golden Bears were able to pull away even more and win their first game of the 2021-22 season 80-68 over city rival Springfield College.

Inside the Numbers:

• As a team, the Golden Bears shot 48.3 percent from the floor, 6.3 percent from three and 60.0 percent from the foul line while the Pride shot 38.0 percent from the hardwood, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and 53.8 percent at the charity stripe.
• Kenny Flynn led the team with 13 rebounds and also earned eight points, one block, two steals and one assist on the night.
• Alex Sikorski went off for 25 points with six rebounds, three steals and two blocks while Gavin Greene recorded 15 points, five rebound, one block and one steal.
• Both Brian Geitner and Jake Harrison tallied 11 points while Harrison notched six rebounds to Geitner's three.

Up Next:

The Golden Bears remain home hosting Worcester State on Tuesday, November 9^th at 7:30 p.m.