Men's Basketball Falls to Westfield State on the Road

WESTFIELD, Mass. (November 16, 2021) – The Golden Bears headed to Westfield State tonight to challenge the Owls where Western New England came up short falling 75-67.

Records:

• Westfield State: 5-0
• Western New England: 1-2

How It Happened:

Brian Geitner scored the first points of the game at the 18:49 mark to start the back-and-forth action off early. Alex Sikorski made a three to give the Golden Bears a 5-2 lead only for the Owls to record two layups to take a 6-5 lead with 16:10 on the clock. Brian Berritto answered for Western New England with back-to-back threes to put the Golden Bears ahead 11-6 at the 15:22 mark forcing the Owls into a timeout. It was two minutes later before either team scored when the Owls recorded a layup followed by a big three to tie the game 11-11 at 14:01. Geitner earned two free throws and made both to keep Western New England in the lead 13-11 followed by Tim Restall recording four straight points. Geitner struck again at the 11:59 mark with a three to give the Golden Bears their largest lead of the game 20-11. Westfield quickly responded with a layup only for Sikorski to do the game less than 20 seconds later. An 18-0 run by the Owls that spanned about six minutes forced the Golden Bears into a timeout down 31-22. Geitner made a three for the Golden Bears to stop the Owls' run only for Westfield to score eight more points. Gavin Greene ended the half with a layup to send the teams into halftime with Westfield leading 39-29.

The Owls opened the second half with a pair of foul shots before Kenny Flynn and Berritto scored for the Golden Bears to get within seven (41-34). After an and-one for the Owls, Flynn struck again before Sikorski made a fastbreak dunk to put Western New England within six (44-38). After a layup for the Owls, Sikorski went on a solo five-point run to only put the Owls ahead by three (46-43). The trading of baskets quickly began with the Golden Bears unable to get any close than three points. At the 10:41 mark, Andrew Byfield made a jump shot followed by a Restall layup that got the Golden Bears within one (52-51) of the Owls with 10 minutes left in the game. The Owls made a three and were answered by a Geitner three which put Western New England down 55-54 at 7:28. The Owls rallied for a 6-0 run to take a 61-54 lead at 5:54. At 4:22, Greene and Geitner made layups only for the Owls to answer with a 9-0 run. The Golden Bears were unable to recover from the deficit and fell to the Owls 75-67 on the road.

Inside the Numbers:

• As a team, the Golden Bears shot 40.3 percent from the floor, 32.1 percent from the three-point line, and 50.0 percent from the foul line while recording 37 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and four blocks.
• Comparatively, the Owls shot 42.4 percent from the field, 46.7 percent from three, and 63.2 percent from the free throw line while earning 42 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 steals and five blocks.
• Geitner led the Golden Bears with 20 points while Sikorski earned 16.
• Restall recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Up Next:

The Golden Bears return home to host the WNE Tournament where they face Me.–Presque Isle on Saturday, November 20 at 2 p.m.