SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Springfield College men's basketball team outscored Eastern Connecticut State University, 12-1 in erasing a five-point deficit over the final five minutes in a 66-60 non-conference victory Tuesday evening at James Naismith Court.

Eastern (1-4) had rallied back from 11 points down late in the first half and from seven points down four minutes into the second half to score seven unanswered points and take a take a five-point, 59-54 lead into the final five minutes. The Warriors, however, were held without a point from the floor and to just one free throw the rest of the way, missing seven shots and three free throws and turning the ball over four times in that final stretch.

Neither team led by more than three points through the first 16 minutes before Springfield (2-2) went on a 16-4 run – fueled by John Paulino's  nine points -- after Eastern had taken a 19-18 lead on sophomore forward Jalen Hamblin's (West Hartford) inside basket with just under seven minutes left in the first half. At that point, Gary Bess scored four points on a basket off his own offensive lineup and a pair of free throws and his teammates followed with three consecutive three-point field goals. After Josiah Evely swished a three, Paulino followed with a four-point play off a corner three-pointer and free throw and he closed the run with a steal and dunk that gave his team an 11-point margin, 34-23, with two minutes left in the half.

Senior guard Cade Ensinger (Deep River) provided Eastern with an outside threat in the game. He canned a three-pointer off a turnover in the closing seconds of the first half to make it an eight-point game, and opened the second half with another deep trey off a pass from junior guard Dan Wellington (Bridgeport) that cut the Prides' lead to five.

Eastern's most consistent  play of the game came over a four-minute stretch  in the second half when a 10-0 run turned a seven-point deficit into a three-point, 47-44 lead with 12 minutes left, with sophomore guard Dominick Dao's (Terryville) first three-point of the game from the top of the key capping the surge.

First-year guard Elijah Jean-Guillaume (New Haven) and junior forward Sheriff Bilewu (Waterbury) were instrumental in the surge.  Jean-Guillaume stuck a right-side jumper and after Bilewu grabbed four rebounds (three offensive ones) in 80 seconds, Jean-Guillaume sank a three-pointer that cut Springfield's lead to two, 44-42, with 14 minutes left.

The teams traded points and turnovers before seven straight Eastern points lifted the Warriors  into their five-point, 59-54 lead with 5:22 left.

Hamblin had 19 points (7-of-10 FG) and six rebounds, with Ensinger adding 14 points and five assists, and Jean-Guillaume ten points off the bench. Bilewu, who did not have a point or rebound and played only 23 minutes last year, had 11 rebounds (six offensive) and two blocks in 22 minutes off the bench. Wellington handed out four assists.

Evely led the Pride with 21 points and eight rebounds, Bess adding 15 points  and seven rebounds, Paulino 13 points and five steals and Curtiss Blische led both teams with 12 rebounds. Evely, Paulino and Blische were a combined 15-of-23 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the stripe.

With the win, the Pride snapped a four-game losing streak at the hands of Eastern.

Eastern hosts Connecticut College in a non-conference game Sunday at 5 p.m.