Western New England Defeats Gordon 94-88, Snapping Scots' 15-Game Winning Streak

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Western New England University men's basketball team took down Gordon College 94-88 on Saturday afternoon at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
Western New England had four players reach double figures. Senior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the way with 24 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn) added 17 points and six boards, shooting 4-9 from beyond the arc. Junior Mike McGuire scored 15 and dropped six assists. Junior Tim Reilly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) dropped in 14 points and played key defense for the Golden Bears.

For the Scots, senior forward Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass) put together 30 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Eric Demers (Acushnet, Mass.) finished with 16 points, six boards, and four assists. Sophomore center Parker Omslaer (Jackson, N.J.) had a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double. Senior guard Noah Szilagyi (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) added 15 points for Gordon.

Game Review
Over the first six minutes, both teams traded baskets. At 14:23, Reilly would find McGuire off a back door cut for a layup to make it 14-10. From there, Western New England would go on a 14-5 run, highlighted by a Kenny Flynn dunk down the lane courtesy of junior forward Reid Killeen (Amawalk, N.Y.). At 5:16, great Western New England ball movement found sophomore forward Zachary Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) for the slam, putting the Golden Bears up 35-21. The Golden Bears were executing their offense well in the first half, shooting 62% from the field and 40% from deep. The lead would grow to 19 off a layup from Pettway.

In the second half, the Scots would chip away at the lead off the play of Duvivier and Szilagyi. A Duvivier dunk plus the foul would cut it to 66-63 with 10:21 remaining. The Golden Bears would respond with a huge three on the wing from Reilly, who was perfect from the field in the second half. At 8:29, the Western New England lead would go back up to 11 off a Pettway jumper. Duvivier would again give Gordon a chance with another dunk. Duvivier exploded for 26 points and seven boards in the second half alone. Duvivier's effort was not enough as the Golden Bears would knock down 7-10 free throws over the last three minutes to keep the lead comfortable, resulting in a 94-88 upset victory.

Notes
• The Golden Bears snapped Gordon College's 15-game winning streak.
• Western New England assisted on 13 of their 22 baskets.

Up Next
Western New England (6-12, 3-6 CCC) looks to ride the momentum into their CCC matchup against Wentworth (6-11, 4-5 CCC) on Tuesday, January 22. Gordon (16-2, 8-1 CCC) will face University of New England (5-13, 3-6 CCC) on Tuesday night.