SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior guard Andre Shaw (New York, NY) tied his career high with 27 points as Western New England rallied for a 67-55 victory over Norwich in an opening round game of the Golden Bears Hoop Classic Friday night (Nov. 18) at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
Western New England (2-0) will meet Trinity (who defeated Sage, NY 81-64) in the championship game at 3:00 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 19) in the championship game.
The Golden Bears trailed 53-49 with just under five minutes remaining before going on a 9-0 run to take the lead for good.
Shaw made one of the biggest plays of the game with an assist on a layup by junior guard Damon Alston (New Britain, CT) that broke a 53-53 tie with 3:29 left.
Shaw then drilled a clutch three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to give WNE a 63-55 advantage at the 1:12 mark and the Cadets couldn't catch up.
Sophomore forward Kevin Wilkes (Troy, NY) contributed to the win by compiling the first double-double of his career with 16 points and 11 rebounds (both career highs).
Alston finished with 10 points while junior center James Hock (Trumbull, CT) came off the bench to pull down a career high 10 rebounds. Shaw just missed a double-double with nine rebounds while dishing out four assists. Junior guard Jason Kulik (Rye Brook, NY) also chipped-in with four assists.
Western New England started strong scoring the first seven points of the game before Norwich came back to take a 30-24 lead at halftime. Junior guard Josh Cabrera (Providence, RI) led three players in double figures with 13 points. Junior guard Ryan Williams (Dallas, TX) and sophomore guard Everett Ramirez (Boyle Heights, CA) each added 10 points.
Senior forward Antonio Davis (Albany, NY) just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Golden Bears defense held the Cadets to only 31.5% shooting from the field and held a commanding 48-26 advantage off the boards. Western New England made 43.4 % of the field goal attempts while making only 60% (15-for-25) from the charity stripe.
Norwich is now 0-2.
Trinity 81, Sage (NY) 64
In the first game, Trinity received some outstanding play from a trio of newcomers in posting an 81-64 victory over Sage (NY) in its season opener.
Freshman guard Varun Ram (Clarksville, MD) led four players scoring in double figures with 19 points. He made five-of-six three-pointers and also had four assists.
Freshman forward Jon Seltzer (Penn Valley, PA) netted 15 points while senior center Chris Applegate (High Point, NC) contributed 12 points while freshman guard Carter Trent (Little Rock, AR) had 10 points (eight-for-eight from the foul line) and five assists,
Trinity led 37-26 at halftime and built a 20-point margin at48-28 when Trent made a pair of foul shots with 14:38 left in the game.
The Gators (1-1) snaked their way back getting within 10 twice, the last time at 62-52 with 5:09 remaining before the Bantams used a late 12-0 run to break the contest open.
Senior forward Ian Austin-Michaud (Valatie, NY) led Sage with 16 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Mason Horne (Albany, NY) delivered 14 points in a reserve role.