Men’s Basketball Edged at New England College, 70-66

HENNIKER, N.H.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team dropped a narrow 70-66 decision at New England College Saturday afternoon.

The Lions slip to 12-10 on the season and 3-1 in the New England Collegiate Conference with the setback. The Pilgrims progress to 10-11 overall and 3-1 in league play with the win.

Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) posted his eighth double-double of the year, scoring a game-high 22 points while grabbing 11 boards. Corey McGhee (Alexandria, Va.) finished with 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) registered 13 points, five boards, and four assists. Levi Grady-White (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with 10 rebounds and six points.

The visitors tallied nine consecutive points to grab a 14-7 lead with 13:57 remaining in the first half.

The home team pulled even at 21-21 with 7:53 left to play in the opening period as Kareem Octavien sank the second of two free throw attempts.

A bucket by Grady-White with 2:23 on the clock capped off a 16-2 run as Eastern Nazarene claimed a 37-23 advantage.

At the break, the Lions boasted a 37-25 lead after shooting 43.8% from the deck and 31.3% from three-point territory. New England College settled for a field-goal percentage of 20.9% while connecting on just 2-of-15 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes of action.

The Pilgrims cut the deficit to 57-55 with 7:53 to go in the second stanza as Calvin Cheek tossed in a layup.

New England College leveled the game at 60-60 on a trey by Jamal Allen before a layup by Cheek gave the home side a 62-60 edge with 4:43 remaining.

The Pilgrims poured in six unanswered points to capture a 68-62 lead with 1:04 on the clock and hung on to secure their third-straight victory and hand the Lions their first conference loss.

Eastern Nazarene concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 35.9% while draining 5-of-23 from long distance. New England College shot 32.9% from the floor and 26.7% from three-point range.

Cheek notched a triple-double for the hosts as he scored 16 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and added 10 assists to go with nine steals. Allen paced the Pilgrims with 17 points while Alex Williams contributed with 10 points off the bench.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene will host Mitchell February 16 in the final regular-season home contest.