Western New England Falls to Division I Sacred Heart in Exhibition Game

Pettway scores team-high 20 points, Tavitian adds 15

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (November 12, 2018) – The Western New England University men's basketball team was defeated by Division I Sacred Heart University, 114-72, on Monday evening in an exhibition contest for the Golden Bears at the Pitt Center.

Top Performers
Senior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the Golden Bears with a team-high 20 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Sophomore forward Zach Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) recorded 15 points and a team-best seven boards, while freshman forward Kenny Flynn (Dudley, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points and three rebounds.

Sacred Heart's balanced offense featured six double-figure scorers. Freshman guard Koreem Ozier (Racine, Wis.) paced the Pioneers with 22 points, and sophomore EJ Anosike (East Orange, N.J.) added 18. Freshman Cameron Parker (Beaverton, Ore.) dished out a game-high 14 assists.

Game Review
Sacred Heart got off to a hot start offensively, as the Pioneers drained six three-pointers on their way to a 26-7 lead just over eight minutes into the contest.

The home team eventually stretched its advantage to 33 (44-11) with 6:45 to play in the half, before the Golden Bears found their offensive rhythm and began to cut into the deficit.

A layup by Flynn at the 6:06 mark started a 23-12 Western New England run over the remainder of the half as the Golden Bears closed the gap to 22 (56-34) at the break. Pettway keyed the run with 13 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

In the second half, Western New England got as close as 18 (67-49) with 14:15 to play following consecutive three-pointers by junior Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.). The Golden Bears were still within 24 (94-70) with 6:12 remaining before the Pioneers pulled away late.

Notes
• Western New England shot 36.1 percent from the field in the second half after connecting at a 23.7 percent clip over the opening 20 minutes.
• The Pioneers outrebounded the Golden Bears 54-36 and scored 54 points in the paint.

Up Next
Western New England (1-1) will be back in action on Friday against Thomas (Maine) College at Wesleyan University's Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament. Sacred Heart (1-1) plays Army West Point on Saturday at the Brown University Tipoff Classic.