Men’s Hoops Pulls Away From Johnson State, Prevails in ENC Holiday Classic Opener 72-57

QUINCY, Mass.- In the opening contest of the ENC Holiday Classic, the Eastern Nazarene men's basketball team posted its third-straight victory with a 72-57 decision over Johnson State Friday evening.

The Lions improve to 3-0 overall with the win while the Badgers fall to 1-1 on the year.

Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) led all scorers with 21 points while also picking up a team-high four assists. Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished the game with 12 points and five boards.

Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) notched nine points and 10 rebounds on the night while Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) chipped in with six points and seven rebounds.

The visitors opened the game on a 9-2 run just 2:48 into the contest.

Jeremy Wagner nailed a trey to cap off an 11-3 stretch as Eastern Nazarene claimed a 13-12 lead with 14:09 left to play in the first half.

The Lions pushed their advantage to six points, 27-21, with 9:06 remaining in the half as Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) knocked down a three-pointer.

The Badgers chipped away at the deficit to level the score at 31-31 with 4:34 left to play in the opening stanza. Johnson State grabbed a three-point edge heading into the final minute as Lester Alexander drained a three, 36-33.

Eastern Nazarene trailed at the break by one, 36-35, after Jeremy Wagner sank a short-ranged jumper in the waning seconds of the opening half.

Owens led the Lions at intermission with 10 points, two steals and two assists. Eric Lynch poured in eight first-half points. Jeremy Wagner posted five points and a team-high five boards in the first frame.

The home team shot 35.6% from the field, including 17.6% from long-distance in the first half. The Badgers connected on 51.9% of their field-goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes while also draining 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Eastern Nazarene netted nine unanswered points to capture a 44-36 lead. The Lions extended their lead to double-digits with 14:22 left to go, 50-40, as Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) sank back-to-back treys.

The hosts widened the margin to 19 points, their largest lead of the night, with 7:06 on the clock. Dylan Saenz (Port Lavaca, Texas) completed a three-point play the old-fashioned way, converting a free throw to push the score to 67-48.

Josh Reed led four Badger players in double-figures with 13 points while Bryan Hickey registered a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.

Eastern Nazarene shot 36.7% from the floor and 22.2% from three-point distance in the game. Johnson State finished the contest with a field-goal percentage of 39.0% while being limited to 6-of-27 shooting from behind the arc.

In the second game, New England College coasted to a 74-39 win over The King's College. The Pilgrims were led by Joel DeMadet with 17 points while Rob Cassell added 14 points and Andrew Haschytz pulled down 10 boards. The Lions were paced by Joshua Rivera with a game-high 18 points.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will close out play at the ENC Holiday Classic against New England College November 23 at 3 pm.