SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior guard Chris Devine (Wilbraham, MA) had a double-double with 23 points and a career high 13 rebounds as the Western New England men's basketball team rallied for a 74-70 victory over Eastern Nazarene Thursday night (Feb. 3) at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

The Golden Bears, who defeated Keene State 95-83 Monday, improved their record to 3-16 and 2-6 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Devine, who scored the first five points of the game and the last four for the Golden Bears, made 7-of-12 shots from the field, all nine foul shots, and dished out four assists in one of his best outings of the season.

Senior forward Brad Thomka (Springfield, MA) also had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds along with five blocks. He blocked a layup attempt by sophomore guard Aaron Johnson (Boston, MA) with five seconds left and Devine sank two charity shots with 4.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Junior guard Andre Shaw (New York, NY) and sophomore guard Damon Alston (New Britain, CT) each contributed 10 points.

Western New England's win offset a brilliant performance by freshman forward John Flakes, Jr. (Dorchester, MA) who netted a double-double with a game-high 31 points and 12 rebounds with three blocks. Junior guard DeAngelo Alston (West Columbia, SC) added 12 points.

The Lions (6-13, 2-6 TCCC) led by as many as six in the opening half and held a 36-31 lead at intermission.

Flakes made a basket to give the visitors their final five-point advantage at 47-42 with 15:55 left in the game.

There were then four ties in a six-minute span before the Golden Bears took the lead for good at 68-66 when Shaw made a layup at the 4:20 mark.

Devine's layup gave Western New England a 72-66 edge with 1:47 left before Flakes hit two free throws and Johnson a layup to get the Lions within 72-70 with 48.9 seconds remaining.

Thomka then came up with his defensive gem as the Golden Bears were able to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.