Jan 25, 2015
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Sophomore guard Mike Gelineau scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the 2nd half to help Western New England University pull out a 69-63 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball victory over the University of New England on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 25) at the Harold Alfond Forum.
Now with a split in the season series, the Golden Bears (6-11, 4-6 CCC) move one in front of the Nor'easters (5-12, 3-7 CCC) in the league standings.
Western New England out-scored the hosts by 11 points (34-23) over the final 13 minutes, after trailing for more than half of a contest that also featured 14 lead changes.
Down by one (49-48) with a little more than eight minutes to go, the visitors used a 10-2 stretch to take advantage for good. UNE countered on its next two trips with treys from sophomore Jean-Luc Parker and junior Devin Thompson to get back within one (58-57) at the 2:53 mark, but Gelineau stuck a three-pointer with 1:35 on the clock to make it a two-possession game.
Big Blue got to within three (62-59) on a pair of free throws by sophomore Matt Lettick, but could not draw any closer in the remaining 0:58. The Golden Bears cushion shifted between four and six points in the waning seconds.
Gelineau tallied 12 of his points from behind the arc, and added seven rebounds as WNE posted a 40-33 edge on the glass. Senior Musa Elsir and graduate student Nick DeFeo each ended with 12 points, while Elsir collected a team-high nine caroms.
For UNE, Thompson was one of two players to record 12 points, and finished with seven rebounds as well as three blocks. First-year Mano Senthil also totaled 12 points, and Parker registered 11. Lettick notched nine points to go with seven rebounds.
Six straight points late in the 1st period established a seven-point margin (25-18) for the Nor'easters, before Gelineau hit from deep and Elsir put back an offensive rebound in the closing moments to slice the gap to 25-23 at the half.
The Big Blue advantage reached five on three occasions (28-23, 30-25, and 40-35) during the initial stages of the 2nd frame, but an 8-2 spurt, including six from Gelineau, gave Western New England an edge (43-42) for the first time in more than 16 minutes of action.
Both squads are on the road for conference match-ups on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.), with the Golden Bears heading to Roger Williams University (5-5 CCC) and UNE visiting Endicott College (7-2 CCC).