Jan 29, 2014
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Eastern Nazarene College connected on 10-of-16 three-pointers on the way to 50 1st-half points in a 78-61 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball victory over the University of New England on Wednesday evening (Jan. 29) at the Harold Alfond Forum.
The Lions move to 12-4 on the year and 6-4 in league play. UNE drops to 1-17 overall (1-10 CCC).
Sophomore Jeremy Wagner led a balanced offense for Eastern Nazarene with 14 points and five assists. Twin brother Justin added 11 points and three steals. Classmate Jaylen Owens totaled 10 points to go with six assists. Five others scored at least six points to account for 41 for the visitors.
The Nor'easters received game-highs of 18 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks from first-year Brayden Morse. Sophomore William Abdul-Malak tallied 13 points off the bench, and senior Kurt Steiner ended with 12.
ENC was up 14-8 after six minutes of action before surging forward with treys on four consecutive possessions that built the lead up to 18 (26-8). First-year Zach Tonello canned all three of his triples to finish the spurt.
The margin stayed in double digits for the rest of the period, as the Lions held a 50-31 advantage at the break. ENC shot 52 percent (15 for 29) from the floor in the frame, and turned 13 UNE turnovers into 23 points the other direction. Like Tonello, senior Brian Hard made all three of his attempts from deep during the opening 20 minutes.
Still trailing by 17 (55-38) less than five minutes into the 2nd half, Big Blue put together a bit of a rally with 15 of the next 20 points to trim the deficit to seven (60-53) by the midway mark of the stanza. Morse had all seven of his points after halftime during the stretch.
But it would be as close as the hosts would get, as Eastern Nazarene answered with a 16-4 run over the ensuing six minutes to put the game away.
Both squads will be at home on Saturday (3 p.m.). The Lions are slated to entertain Curry College, and UNE will welcome in Endicott College.