Men’s Basketball Posts 66-62 Victory at Becker

LEICESTER, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team edged Becker 66-62 on the road Saturday afternoon to snap a two-game skid.

The Lions jump to 12-10 on the season and 7-2 in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) with the win. The Hawks flutter to 10-12 overall and 3-6 in conference play with the result.

Noah Cheney (Bend, Ore.) finished with a team-high 15 points. Jacob Waldroop (Newland, N.C.) registered 13 points, four steals, and four assists. Luke Dagley (Weymouth, Mass.) poured in 12 points off the bench, connecting on 4-of-6 from long distance. David Lopez (Miami, Fla.) chipped in with seven points and six boards.

The hosts started the contest with 15-straight points before the visitors got on the board with 14:48 remaining in the first half as Dagley splashed a three-pointer.

Eastern Nazarene cut the deficit to 21-20 on a trey by Justin McMurry (Henderson, Tenn.) with 8:32 left in the opening frame.

Becker clung to a narrow one-point lead heading into the halftime break, 33-32.

The Lions shot 50% from the floor and from the perimeter in the first period. The Hawks posted a field-goal percentage of 55.2% in the opening stanza while going 0-for-4 from three-point range.

Dagley netted a game-high 12 points off the bench in the first frame while Lopez recorded seven points and five rebounds.

The guests grabbed their first lead of the afternoon as Cheney knocked down a jumper on the squad's first possession of the second half.

Back-to-back treys by Cheney capped off an 11-0 run to give Eastern Nazarene a 48-35 advantage with 15:01 remaining in regulation.

The home team strung together a 16-0 run to trim the margin to 58-57 with 4:59 left to play.

The Lions pushed the gap to 63-59 on a three-pointer by Waldroop with 2:40 to go.

Eastern Nazarene sealed the win with three free throws down the stretch to clinch its fourth-consecutive victory over Becker.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 51.2% to go while sinking 14-of-26 three-point attempts. The Hawks shot 52.8% from the floor and just 18.2% from beyond the arc on the day.

Jamir Carr paced Becker with 17 points, seven assists, and four boards while Jordan Rose-Wheatley notched 15 points and Mateus Ribeiro contributed with 13 points.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hosts Lesley in the final regular-season home game February 15. The Lions will recognize the program's senior class prior to tip-off.