Western New England Outlasts Men’s Basketball in Overtime, 88-81

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  – Suffolk men's basketball forced overtime, however, the Rams went cold in the extra session and Western New England took advantage to take an 88-81 win over the blue-and-gold Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 81 | Western New England 88
RECORDS: Suffolk (11-4, 6-3 CCC) | Western New England (6-8, 3-5 CCC)   

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth affair from the get go with Western New England gaining a 36-35 lead after the first half. Suffolk narrowly outscored the Golden Bears in the second stanza, 43-42, to level the playing field at 78-all at the end of regulation.  

The Rams had momentum on their side going into the extra session as Suffolk trailed by three with 1:02 remaining in the second half. Thanks to its finesse at the free throw line, the blue-and-gold went 3-for-4 at the charity stripe over the final minute to force overtime.  

WNE struck first in OT with a pair of freebies before Aidan Sullivan righted that wrong with a triple to send Suffolk in front, 81-80. Sullivan's hoop, that came at 4:12 minute mark of the extra frame, would be the only bucket that the Rams would make in overtime, which allowed WNE to coast to the 88-81 victory.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Four different players provided double figures for Suffolk. 
• Nate Hale led all of Suffolk's scorers with 18 points to go along with five caroms, two blocks, one assist and one steal. 
• Sullivan supplied 16 points on a 6-for-12 showing from the floor, which included a 2-for-4 effort from downtown. The floor general chipped in three caroms, four steals and one dime. 
• Keenan Robertson registered 14 points, seven boards, three helpers and one takeaway. 
• Conor Creane chipped in 10 points on a 4-for-5 performance from the field, that included a 2-for-3 effort behind-the-arc. Creane grabbed two boards in a reserve effort. 
• Suffolk shot 43.4 percent (33-76) on the afternoon, 29.2 percent (7-24) from 3-point land and 71.4 percent (15-21) from the free throw. 
• The Golden Bears outrebounded the Rams, 33-30. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk needed extra time to decide a winner for the first time since falling at Lasell, 94-83, in OT. 
• Suffolk and Western New England went into overtime for the third time. 
• The OT outing against WNE is Suffolk's first since the Rams defeated the Golden Bears in an extra session, 91-77, Jan. 14, 2019. 
• Suffolk is now 1-2 when playing WNE in OT. 
• In Springfield, the Rams are now 4-8 versus the Golden Bears. 
• The blue-and-gold moved to 2-2 against WNE in the Jeff Juron era. 

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is set to tangle with Gordon Tuesday, Jan. 25 at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court at 7:30 p.m.