Men’s Basketball Knocks Off New England College, 93-80

QUINCY, Mass.-  Three players recorded double-doubles as the Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team notched a 93-80 victory over New England College Thursday evening at the Lahue Athletic Center in non-conference action.

The Lions climb to 8-8 on the season with the win while the Pilgrims sink to 6-10 overall.

Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) poured in a team-best 21 points off the bench. Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) posted his second-straight double-double with 18 points and 13 boards. Levi Grady-White (Springfield, Mass.) registered a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Corey McGhee (Alexandria, Va.) chalked up a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards to go with six assists and five blocks. Deonta Pearson (Westland, Mich.) added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.

After a closely-contested start to the tilt, the home side constructed a nine-point advantage with 11:18 remaining in the first half as Manso splashed a trey, 22-13.

Eastern Nazarene claimed a 27-17 lead with 8:39 left to play in the opening frame.

The Lions strung together a 9-0 run to widen the gap to 42-25 with 1:02 on the clock in the first period.

New England College cut the halftime deficit to 42-33 as Jamal Allen drained two three-pointers and added a layup in the final minute of the frame.

Eastern Nazarene shot 50% from the floor and 36.4% from long distance in the opening 20 minutes of action. The Pilgrims posted a field-goal percentage of 34.2% while connecting on 2-of-10 from behind the three-point line.

The hosts stretched their advantage to 23 points with 11:50 remaining in regulation, 66-43, on a trey by McGhee.

The Lions pushed the margin to 72-48 as Manso sank four-consecutive free throws with 11:09 left to play.

New England College trimmed the gap to 81-72 with 4:49 to go on a three-pointer by Allen.

Eastern Nazarene outscored the visitors 10-8 in the final four minutes to secure the victory.

The Lions finished the game with a field-goal percentage of 48.5% while connecting on 9-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Pilgrims shot 35.9% from the floor and 22.7% from three-point range.

Allen netted a game-high 23 points to pace New England College while Calvin Cheek tallied 22 points and nine rebounds. Errol Crawford scored 15 points while Alex Williams added 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will host New England College in a non-league matchup January 27.