Men’s Basketball Overpowers New England College in ENC Holiday Classic Finale

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene men's basketball team closed out the ENC Holiday Classic Tournament with its fourth-straight win, a 98-74 victory over New England College Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions escalate to 4-0 on the season with the win, one of their best starts in program history. The Pilgrims drop to 2-1 overall with the loss.

Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) poured in a game-high 23 points while dishing out seven assists. Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) posted 15 points and five rebounds for the hosts. Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished with 14 points while Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds.

After the two team traded baskets in the opening four minutes of play, Eastern Nazarene strung together back-to-back buckets to gain a four-point lead, 11-7. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) nailed a three-pointer and Jeremy Wagner followed with a fast-break lay-in for the Lions.

The Pilgrims responded with a 6-0 run to claim a 13-11 edge with 13:35 remaining in the half.

Eastern Nazarene reclaimed the lead and pushed its advantage to seven with 9:21 left to play, 25-18, as Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) completed a three-point with a made free throw.

Owens knocked down a trey heading into the final minute of the first frame to extend the Lions' lead to 44-39.

Eastern Nazarene held a 44-39 edge over New England College at the break.

The Lions were led by Owens with 10 points and three assists through the opening 20 minutes of action. Jarman netted eight first-half points while pulling down a team-high nine boards. Eric Lynch and Jeremy Wagner each registered seven points in the first frame.

Eastern Nazarene sank 39.0% of its field-goal attempts in the opening period, including 18.8% from downtown. The Pilgrims shot 41.9% from the floor in the first half while being held to 0-for-2 shooting from behind the arc.

In the second stanza, the Lions stretched the margin to double-digits with 13:38 on the clock as Jeremy Wagner banked in a lay-up, 62-51.

The hosts utilized a 14-0 swing to increase their lead to 23 on a lay-up by Eric Lynch with 6:35 left to play, 83-60.

Eastern Nazarene widened the gap to a game-high 32 points with 2:29 remaining in regulation. Dylan Saenz (Port Lavaca, Texas) sank a lay-in to extend the score to 98-66.

New England College closed out the game with eight unanswered points to cut the deficit to 24.

The home team posted a field-goal percentage of 51.4% on the day after shooting 69.0% from the floor in the second half. The Lions connected on 10-of-31 attempts from three-point distance in the contest.

New England College finished the game with a field-goal percentage of 38.2% while shooting 28.6% from beyond the arc.

In the first game of the afternoon, Johnson State cruised past The King's College 92-46.

Josh Reed led the Badgers with a game-high 24 points off the bench while Asim Khan finished with 15 points and five rebounds.

The Lions were led by Joshua Rivera with 23 points while Josiah Chapman contributed with 13 points and Jeremiah Gill hauled in a team-best eight boards.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hits the road for a non-conference tilt at Regis November 26.