Men's Basketball Falls to Nichols in CCC Championship Game

DUDLEY, Mass. (February 25, 2023) – In the CCC Championship game, the Western New England Men's Basketball team took on the Nichols College Bison at Nichols in their first ever CCC championship appearance. The Golden Bears ended up falling to the Bison 87-64 after 40 minutes of play.

Records:

• Western New England: 21-7, 16-5 CCC
• Nichols College: 23-5, 17-2 CCC

How It Happened: Nichols hit a jump shot right out of the jump ball to get on the scoreboard first. Cody Palazzeli took it to the basket to quickly even it up. The Bison went down and put up a three. Brian Geitner drove in for two before Nichols put up another three for a four-point lead. Both Tim Restall and Gavin Greene had good layups for the Golden Bears, but Nichols made baskets in every transition. Mike Resnick drained two threes for WNE to take their first lead 14-12, seven minutes into this ballgame. Two consecutive trips to the hoop for the Bison had them back on top, Jake Harrison knocked in a three, WNE back in the lead. Again, the Golden Bears did not stop the transition back and the Bison got back in the lead three, 25-22 at the 8:24 mark. The Golden Bears worked their way back on top after Harrison picked up two on the line and Greene put in a layup. Continuing the back-and-forth pace of the game, Nichols went back up three, Greene closed the gap each time, but a three for the Bison and a couple of free throws gave them an eight-point lead 3:13 in the half. WNE staying in the fight hit two jumpers by Geitner and Resnick, and then Harrison took it to the rim for them to trail three in the last 20 seconds. The Bison got in a layup before the half expired for them to be in the lead of the Golden Bears 42-37 at halftime.

First basket of the second half was shot in by Nichols. Restall gave the Golden Bears three points with a free throw and a layup, down four, and then the Bison put up a three. Harrison kept WNE in it with a shot at the rim and two on the foul line. Nichols answered with a three-pointer and a few fast break trips to the hoop for a double-digit lead. They added some foul shots, and a 13-0 run gave the Bison the lead of 60-44 12:50 to go. Geitner's layup finally put WNE on the scoreboard again and Greene backed it up with a couple of slam dunks, six straight points for the Golden Bears to cut the lead to 10, 62-52. Nichols got their lead up to 17 out of a timeout break with a run of seven. Palazzeli put in a needed three for the Golden Bears and a layup following a free throw by Nichols, 70-57. Greene made some big baskets for WNE, the Bison still scoring in the transition. Nichols earn a 20-point lead on the foul line in the final two minutes of the game. They had all the momentum in the second half of the game and defeated the Golden Bears 87-64 in the CCC championship game.

On the Floor:

• As a team, the Golden Bears shot 38.5 percent from the floor, 31.3 percent from the three, and 60.0 percent from the foul line while gathering 35 rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and blocks.
• The Bison shot 47.8 percent from the hardwood, 37.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 73.9 percent from the free throw line while tallying 40 rebounds, 18 assists, 11 steals and 10 blocks.
• The Golden Bears were led by Gavin Greene who had 17 points. He was 8-14 from inside the paint and 1-3 from the free-throw line.
• Jake Harrison ended the day with a double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds, and five assists.
• Tim Restall contributed 12 rebounds, adding seven points, four blocks, and three assists.

Up Next: The Golden Bears conclude their 2022-23 season after 28 games. They finished 21-7 and 16-5 in the CCC. They made it to their first CCC championship game in program history and will return in the winter of 2023 for a new season.