SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior guard Damon Alston (New Britain, CT) scored four of his 12 points in the final 39 seconds as the Western New England men's basketball team held on for a 64-60 victory over Nichols Saturday afternoon (Dec. 3) at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
Senior guard Andre Shaw (New York, NY) also netted 12 points as the Golden Bears gained their first win of the year in two outings in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). WNE also evened its overall record at 3-3. Nichols falls to 2-3 and 0-2 in conference play.

Western New England led 33-28 at halftime before Nichols came back to take a 40-36 lead on a layup by junior guard Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, CT) at the 17:15 mark.

The Golden Bears then ran off 13 consecutive points for a 49-40 advantage following a three-pointer by senior reserve guard Nick Belcastro (Hull, MA) with 9:28 remaining.

WNE maintained its nine-point margin over the next six minutes taking a 60-51 lead when Shaw sank a foul shot with 3:04 left.

The Bison charged back reeling off seven unanswered points in getting within 60-58 after sophomore forward Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, MA) made a layup with 1:01 remaining.

Alston then sneaked his way through the lane for layup 22 seconds later before Kuntz missed a three-pointer with 16 seconds left. Alston then sank two free throws two seconds later. Freshman forward Joe Gallant (Salem, NH) made a basket with four seconds remaining for the final points of the game.

Western New England received a major contribution from its reserves who compiled 25 points

Sophomore forward Daniel Minto (West Hempstead, NY) contributed nine points, nine rebounds, four steals, and a pair of blocks. Junior center James Hock (Trumbull, CT) added six points and five rebounds. Junior guard Jason Kulik (Rye Brook, NY) had five points in the opening half while Belcastro tossed in all five of his points in the second period.

Sophomore forward Dennis Rinaldi (Harrison, NY) had a solid performance with seven points and five rebounds.

Sheehan led three Nichols players in double figures with 19 points. Kuntz finished with 16 points while Gallant also contributed 16 points (5-for-5 from the field) and a team-high eight rebounds coming off the bench in a nice showing.

Western New England shot 44.4% from the field and held a 38-27 advantage in the rebounding department.

Nichols made only 39.6% of its field-goal attempts, including just 1-for-23 in three-pointers.