MILTON, Mass. - While it was raining in Henniker, it was pouring in Milton, Massachusetts as the New England College men's basketball team shot 56% from the field and 43% drom deep as they picked up their first win of the 2025-26 season over Curry College on Monday.
Curry jumped out to a quick 7-0 advantage, later expanding their lead to double digits, 16-6. But the 'Grims stormed back with a 12-4 run with seven of the 12 points coming from junior Jasen Stovall (Tampa, Fla.) including a three-pointer to pull NEC within two midway through the first half.
The Stovall-led scoring run sparked an offensive explosion over the final ten minutes of the first half as the team shot 9-of-16, and 4-of-6 from distance, the rest of the way. Junior Mike Strazzeri (Chichester, N.H.) scored a quick seven points during the offensive burst, while seniors Kenray Emadamerho (Manchester, N.H.) and Kyle Dzarnowski (Boca Raton, Fla.) both splashed triples.
After 20 minutes, Stoval led all scorers with 12 points while Strazzeri had 11. Curry was held without a field goal over the final 4:10 of the first half as the Pilgrims held onto a six-point lead
The offense kept flowing in the second half as sophomore Josh Robie (Bethlehem, N.H.) and sophomore Jayden Welch (Lynn, Mass.) nailed three-pointers while Strazzeri and Stovall exploited driving lanes. The team improved upon a 51% shooting first half with an even better 61% second half.
With under eight minutes to go, the Colonels reduced the NEC lead to six, but a free throw by junior Aiden MacLeod (Wilmington, Mass.) and a five-point run by Robie quickly gave the 'Grims their largest lead of the game, 74-62.
Curry pulled within as few as five points with under two minutes remaining in the second half, but the Pilgrims iced the game at the free throw line. In the final minute, sophomore Luke Montejo (Tewksbury, Mass.) found MacLeod down low for a slam to put an exclamation point on a 91-85 win.
Stovall led all scorers with 20 points. Robie followed a strong, 19-point performance in their season opener against Plymouth with an 18-point night on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Through two games, the sophomore is shooting 69% from distance.
Strazzeri chimed in an all-around showing with 15 points, a career-high eight rebounds, and five assists. MacLeod scored 12 points with seven boards and four assists.
The Pilgrims return home to host Gordon College on Wednesday at 6:00 PM.
For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
