Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- In an opening-round game at The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, No. 4 Western New England College pulled away in the closing stages to come away with a 69-60 victory over No. 5 University of New England.

The Golden Bears (16-10) advance to Thursday's semifinal round and will travel to top-seeded Curry College for a 7:00 p.m. contest.  UNE ends it season with a 15-11 mark.

After a fastbreak lay-up by #Jaykyri Simpson# '09 (East Cleburne, Texas) got the Nor'easters to within two (58-56), Western New England guard Matt Maynard '09 (Paterson, N.J.) buried a key 3-pointer with 2:06 on the clock to give the Golden Bears a five-point lead.

The Nor'easters would miss a three-point attempt on their next possession.  Maynard was fouled on WNEC's next trip up the floor but failed to convert a free throw attempt.  Teammate Kyle Fredette '09 (Wallingford, Vt.) came up with the rebound and would eventually drop in a lay-up to give the hosts a seven-point lead (63-56) with 1:14 to play.

Fredette and Jim Bayne '08 (Bristol, Conn.) would each make a pair of free throws in the final minute to help the Golden Bears secure victory.

Fredette tallied a game-high 20 points on 7-for-11 field goal accuracy.  He added eight rebounds, two blocked shots and a pair of steals.  Ryan Hernandez '08 (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) canned three 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, while Maynard scored 11.

WNEC, which shot 52.4 percent (11 of 21) from the floor in the second half, held an overall rebounding margin of 38-29.  The Golden Bears led nearly the entire first half in establishing a 36-28 cushion at the break.

Simpson battled foul trouble to finish with 16 pooints for the Nor'easters, who converted just 1 of 15 attempts from beyond the arc.  #Isaac Stickney# '08 (Rumford, Maine) had 14 points and #Gregg Swartzenberg# '10 (Danville, Vt.) made 6 of 7 shots from the floor to score a career-best 13 points.

(posted Feb. 26, 2008 | 22:28 ET)