Men’s Basketball Falls to Suffolk in Season-Opener, 68-54

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team suffered a 68-54 setback to Suffolk in the first game of the 2023-24 season Wednesday evening at the Lahue Athletic Center. The contest marked the head coaching debut of Eastern Nazarene's Aaron Loredo.

THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 54, Suffolk 68
Records: Lions (0-1) | Rams (1-0)

                               
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After a closely-contested opening 10 minutes, Eastern Nazarene strung together a layup by Carlos Reynoso (Clifton, N.J.) and a pair of free throws by Fahad Tarjali (Amman, Jordan) to snag a five-point edge, 20-15, with 6:30 remaining in the first half.
• The Lions clung to a narrow 29-28 lead at the halftime break.
• Suffolk utilized an 8-2 run to start the second stanza and grab a 36-31 advantage with 14:53 left to play.
• The home side battled back to knot the game at 43-43 with 10:38 on the clock as Martinie Kamga (Yaounde, Cameroon) drained two free throws.
• After Eastern Nazarene captured a 46-45 lead on a trey by Sammuel Prosper (Hyde Park, Mass.), the Rams rattled off a 20-2 run to establish a 17-point advantage with 3:31 remaining, 65-48.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Darrell Hardge (Hialeah, Fla.) poured in a team-high 17 points while adding four steals.
• Martinie Kamga (Yaounde, Cameroon) posted a double-double in his collegiate debut, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
• Sammuel Prosper (Hyde Park, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points.
• Eastern Nazarene shot 39.6% from the floor and 30% from three-point territory in the game.
• Suffolk concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 49.13% while connecting on 5-of-20 from long distance.
• Evan Cook tallied a game-high 24 points to lead the Rams while Danny Yardemian netted 16 points.

LOOKING AHEAD:
Eastern Nazarene hosts UMass-Boston November 10.