Western New England Defeats Men's Basketball

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 6, 2017) – The Elms College men's basketball team fell to host Western New England in a non-conference clash at the Alumni Healthful Living Center Monday night. With the win, Elms dips to 4-16 overall, while the Golden Bears improve to 5-16 on the campaign.

Western New England senior guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) made 10-of-14 three-point attempts and 14-of-20 shots overall to go with a pair of free throws on his way to becoming the 22^nd player in program history to reach the 1000-point milestone. Gelineau also finished with a career-high five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Freshman forward Mike McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) was the only other Golden Bear in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, in 19 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) dished out a game-high eight assists while also grabbing four boards. 

Senior guards Symon Smith (Oklahoma, City, Okla.) and Trifon Bish (St. Catherine, Jamaica) paced Elms with 15 points each, while freshman DeAngelo Cousar (Bowie, Md.) added 14 points and four rebounds.

Western New England, which led 8-7 just over five minutes into the contest after Gelineau connected on the first of his ten three-pointers, fell victim to an 11-3 Elms run over the next 4:24 as the Blazers opened up an 18-11 advantage midway through the half. The Golden Bears answered with an 11-0 run of their own, which included two more Gelineau treys, to regain a 22-18 edge with 7:42 left in the half. The senior knocked down three more shots from beyond the arc over the final four minutes of the frame as Western New England extended its lead to eight (36-28) at the break.

The Golden Bears continued their hot shooting in the second half, as freshman guard Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) drained a three to push Western New England's lead into double digits on the first possession of the period. A Gelineau layup at the 11:37 mark extended the Golden Bears' cushion to 21 (61-40), but Smith scored ten of Elms' next 14 points as the Blazers pulled to within 12 (66-54) with 8:08 remaining. Western New England took control from there, restoring its 20-point lead with an 8-0 run over the next 1:13 as McCourt drained a pair of treys and freshman guard Nick DeGennaro (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) added a layup. Gelineau reached the 1000-point mark on a step-back three-pointer with a defender in his face at the 2:16 mark. Western New England held its largest lead of 28 (92-64) after a DeGennaro triple in the final minute, before going on to win by 25.

Western New England out-rebounded Elms 40-36 and recorded 25 assists on 33 made field goals. Elms shot 40.3% (25-of-62) from the floor, including 40.9% (9-of-22) from three-point range, and 57.1% (8-of-14) from the foul line. The Golden Bears connected on a season-high 17 three-pointers, shooting 48.6% (17-of-35) from beyond the arc and 47.1% (33-of-70) overall.


The Blazers will look to move back into the win column when they host Westfield State in non-conference action Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. Western New England (5-16) returns to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play on Wednesday at Eastern Nazarene.

Source: (Western New England)