Men’s Basketball Kicks Off 2020 With 77-59 Victory Over Suffolk

BOSTON, Mass. (January 4, 2020) – The Western New England University men's basketball used a strong first half to take down Suffolk, 77-59, in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Andy Yosinoff Court.

Top Performers
Leading the way for the Golden Bear offense was junior forward Zachary Tavitian (Milford, Conn.), scoring a season-high 24 points.

Senior guards Tim Reilly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) also scored in double figures, scoring 16 and 14, respectively.

The Rams were led by senior guard Thomas Duffy (Fairfield, Conn.), who scored 16 points. Junior guard Nate Hale (Nashua, N.H.) scored 12 points, while sophomore forward Jarret Byrne (Melrose, Mass.) scored 10 points.

Game Review
Both teams came out strong to begin the game, exchanging the lead multiple times within the first ten minutes of the game. During that time, the Rams took a lead as much as eight points, 23-15, before the Golden Bears tied the game at 25-25 with 7:35 left in the first half from a made 3-pointer by Tavitian.

Western New England took control of the game as they went on a 19-8 scoring run over the last seven minutes of the half to take an 11-point lead heading into halftime by a score of 44-33. Tavitian and Reilly led the way for the Golden Bears during the run, with each scoring eight points.

The Golden Bears came out strong to begin the second half, going on a 10-0 run in the first five minutes to give Western New England a 54-33 lead. Junior guard Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn.) scored the first eight points to begin the second half, with six of those points coming off two made 3-pointers.

The Rams cut the lead down to 10, when Byrne made a layup with 6:27 remaining to make the score 60-50. After a timeout by Western New England, the Golden Bears would go on a 17-9 run to finish the game, securing a 77-59 victory.

Notes
• Western New England shot 51.6% from three, going 16-31.
• Western New England forced 17 Suffolk turnovers.

Up Next
Western New England (7-5) returns to CCC action on Tuesday evening at Gordon. Suffolk (6-6) will play at home on Wednesday evening against Framingham State.