Western New England Pulls Away from Men's Basketball

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore Tim Restall (Tolland, Conn.) and sophomore Brian Geitner (Tolland, Conn.) each scored 19 points to help the Western New England men's basketball team defeat Wentworth Institute of Technology, 79-66, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Tuesday night.

With the win the Golden Bears improve to 11-9 overall and 9-5 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 7-13 (4-10).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

LEADING SCORERS:  Trey Carrier, 26; Kyle Henseler, 9
LEADING REBOUNDERS:  Carrier, 9
ASSIST LEADERS:  Sam Goy, 2; Carrier, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth raced out to a 7-0 lead to start the contest, thanks to four straight points from senior Trey Carrier (Wilton, N.H.) and a three pointer from sophomore Sam Goy (Derry, N.H.). After Restall converted a layup in transition, junior Jack Schaake (Hampton, N.H.) put the Leopards back up by seven on the next possession.
• A layup by Restall started a 21-6 run, which, after a three pointer from senior Kenny Flynn (Dudley, Mass.), gave the Golden bears a 23-15 lead, junior Sam Swift knocked down a three cutting the margin to five with 8:29 left in the half. Western New England took its largest lead of the half (33-24) when Restall converted a three-point play with 4:44 left. The Black & Gold were able to get the lead down to four, thanks to a three pointer from senior Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) with 32 seconds left, however, Geitner hit a three as time wound down, putting the Golden Bears ahead by seven (43-36) at the break.
• Western New England upped its lead to as many as 10 on a pair of occasions, including when graduate student Steevens Phelimond (Stoughton, Mass.) made a layup 4:15 into the second half. Using a 15-7 spurt, Carrier buried a three in transition which cut the lead to 57-55 with 8:48 left. During the run, Carrier scored 11 of his team's 15 points. Junior Brian Berritto (Shelton, Conn.) hit two free throws to push the lead to four but Carrier responded with a dunk and freshman Jack Connell (Walpole, Mass.) hit two free throws, tying the game at 59-all with 7:26 left in the contest.
• The Golden Bears went on a 10-1 run over the next five minutes, taking a 69-60 lead after a layup from Restall. Connell and Henseler each hit two free throws, trimming the lead to five with 2:39 left but Geitner answered with a three which started a 10-0 run to seal the win.
• In addition to Restall and Geitner's 19 points, freshman Jake Harrison (South Boston, Mass.) had a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds, to go along with five assists. The Golden bears had a 38-29 rebounding advantage.
• Carrier recorded his fifth game with 20 or more points as he had a game-high 26 to go along with nine rebounds.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today was the 27th meeting between the two teams. Wentworth holds a 17-10 series advantage.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is at Suffolk on Thursday.

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