HENNIKER, N.H. – Returning to their home court after nearly three weeks away, the New England College men's basketball team opened their 2024 calendar year with a 60-59 win against visiting Eastern Nazarene College in a rematch of last season's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) semifinals on Wednesday at the Bridges Gymnasium in Henniker, New Hampshire in non-conference action.

THE BASICS
Score:                    Eastern Nazarene College 59, New England College 60
Records:               Pilgrims 4-9 | Lions 4-9

TURNING POINTS

• The two teams – conference rivals prior to the dissolution of the NECC – found themselves embroiled in a hotly contested defensive battle from the opening tip. After a slow start, the 'Grims jumped out to an 11-6 lead on a thrilling sequence that saw NEC senior forward Treyjon Lewis (Stamford, Conn.) block a shot, retrieve the defensive rebound, make the outlet pass then sprint down the court to finish the fast break on a put-back layup with 14:20 to go in the opening half as the fans in the Bridges Gymnasium erupted.
• NEC led by as much as nine with 9:56 remaining in the first half to go off a jumper from hot-shooting freshman guard Shawn O'Keefe (Salem, Mass.) and ultimately going into halftime with a 28-19 advantage. Senior guard Kyle Inglis (Burlington, Mass.) led the Pilgrims with six points, a total matched by Eastern Nazarene's leading scorer, junior guard Sammuel Prosper (Hyde Park, Mass.).
• Both teams came out firing in the second half, combining for 22 points in the first five minutes as Eastern Nazarene pulled to within eight off a three-pointer from junior forward Elijah Bishop (St. Louis, Mo.) with 15:19 left in the game. But every time the Lions started to chip into to lead, the 'Grims seemed to answer in kind, with NEC freshman guard Blake Morrow (New Braunfels, Tex.) going to the line with 9:52 remaining and burying all three free-throws to give the hosts their largest lead of the game to that point at 47-34.
• Refusing to go away, Eastern Nazarene would turn to the long ball and rally with a 16-2 run to take their first lead since the opening moments of the game, a stretch that included three three-pointers from sophomore guard Joey Hanlon (Pembroke, Mass.).
• Down one with 1:15 remaining, the Pilgrims got a much-needed basket when NEC junior guard Alex Williams (Miramar, Fla.) stole the ball in the backcourt and took it coast-to-coast for a fastbreak dunk. Down one again with 22.7 seconds left, NEC graduate guard Jayden McGrew (Garland, Tex.) took the rock and drove inside, finishing an off-balance layup to put the 'Grims up 60-59 as Eastern Nazarene called timeout. With 2.3 seconds to go, Eastern Nazarene turned to junior forward Khabri Davis (Peoria, Ariz.) for their final attempt, but some tough defense by Williams saw the shot go off the rim as time expired, and the Pilgrims picked up their first victory of 2024.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Inglis led a balanced Pilgrim attack with 12 points on the day, dishing out four assists and tallying four steals.
• Prosper paced the Lions with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.
• Williams contributed eight points while pulling down five boards, while Efosa posted eight points in just 14 minutes. Sophomore guard Michael Hills (Baton Rouge, Lous.) came off the bench to score eight on 50 percent shooting.
• Davis finished with 11 points and six rebounds for Eastern Nazarene.
• NEC held a 24-14 edge in points off turnovers.

UP NEXT

• Up next for NEC, the team hosts Rivier University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
• Eastern Nazarene returns to North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action on Friday when they host SUNY Poly in a 4:00 p.m. game.

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