Suffolk Shoots Past Western New England in Overtime, 91-77

Rams outscore Golden Bears 17-3 in extra period

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 14, 2019) – The Suffolk University men's basketball team outscored Western New England University 17-3 in overtime to claim a 91-77 victory over the Golden Bears on Monday night in non-conference action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
Senior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led Western New England with 17 points, seven assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Sophomores Zachary Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) and Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn.) recorded 16 and 15 points, respectively, while junior Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points.  

Suffolk senior guard Michael Hagopian (Watertown, Mass.) fueled the Rams' overtime surge with 14 points in the five-minute extra session, as he knocked down all five of his field goal attempts, including three from beyond the arc. Hagopian finished with a game-high 26 points and eight rebounds.

Junior forward Steven DiPrizio (Medford, Mass.) posted a double-double with 25 points and 14 boards, while sophomore guard Alex Jacovides (Tampa, Fla.) turned in a 22-point, nine-rebound effort.

Game Review
Suffolk, which trailed 35-33 at halftime, took its first lead of the second half (40-39) when DiPrizio sank the first of two free throw attempts at the 18:11 mark.

A three-pointer by Jacovides just under five minutes later started a 6-0 run for the Rams as the visitors opened up a 55-48 advantage. Suffolk eventually saw its lead grow to ten (63-53) following a William Rowe (Reston, Va.) layup with 7:41 on the clock.

Western New England responded with an 8-0 run of its own to close the gap to two, but the back and forth continued as Suffolk followed with five straight points to push its cushion back to seven (68-61).

Still facing a five-point deficit (74-69) with under two minutes left, a pair of McGuire free throws made it a three-point game.

The Golden Bears came up empty on their next two possessions, but a pair of defensive stops allowed Tavitian to knock down the game-tying three-pointer with 22 seconds on the clock.

Western New England forced a Suffolk turnover with four seconds to go, but Pettway's last second attempt was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.

After Pettway hit two early free throws in the extra period, the Rams took control. Senior Jim Djema (Greenwich, Conn.) gave the visitors the lead for good (77-76) with a triple, and Hagopian followed with a four-point play. Hagopian then proceeded to connect on his next four field goal attempts to help Suffolk pull away.

Notes
• Western New England shot 38.9 percent from the floor, while Suffolk hit 50 percent of its field goal attempts.
• The Rams held a 50-28 rebounding advantage.  

Up Next
Western New England (5-12) resumes Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play on Saturday, as the Golden Bears host Gordon at 3 p.m. Suffolk (10-5) travels to Anna Maria on Thursday.