Galloway Becomes Men's Basketball's All-Time Win Leader as Wentworth Defeats Western New England

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Jack Connell scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team (6-11, 5-5 Conference of New England) won its fourth straight game, holding on to defeat Western New England, 69-64 (12-5, 8-2), Saturday afternoon.

The win marked the 140th for head coach Arlen Galloway, who became the program's all-time coaching win leader. Galloway surpassed Tom Devitt, who guided the Black & Gold to 139 wins during his 11 seasons (2000-01; 2003-13) on Wentworth's bench.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth jumped out to a 10-5 lead after Russell Dolabany made a layup 3:49 into the contest. During that opening stretch, Nathaniel Smith hit a pair of three pointers. Western New England pulled within a pair at 12-10 on a Cody Palazzesi jumper, however, Tyler Stewart made a jumper and Nathan Brinkman hit a three to increase the lead to 17-10.
• Using a 10-2 run, the Golden Bears took their first lead of the contest, 20-19, on a three from Eddie McCoy and, after a basket from Stewart, Luka Vlajkovic made a layup to put the Golden Bears on top, 22-21. Jayden Williams and Palazzesi trade threes, which put the Golden Bears on top, 25-24, with 6:42 left.
• Nathan Brinkman hit three free throws in a span of 53 seconds to put Wentworth back on top, 27-25. Brinkman and Connell followed with layups, pushing the lead to 32-25 with 2:23 remaining and a Williams layup with 1:17 left gave the Black & Gold a 34-25 lead, a lead they would carry into halftime.
• Wentworth upped its lead to 10 when Connell hit a three 1:06 into the second half. A three from Palazzesi and a layup from McCoy cut the lead in half with 15:18 remaining.
• The Leopards continued to hold the lead, going ahead by 11 on a Stewart jumper with 10:46 left and took their largest lead of the contest with 8:49 left when Connell knocked down a three. An 8-0 Golden Bear run pulled the hosts to within four when Tim Restall made a layup with 5:56 left, however, two free throws from Connell and a three from Brinkman ended the run and put the Black & Gold on top, 54-45, with 4:58 left.
• Palazzesi hit a three and, after a turnover, Brian Geitner made a jumper making it 54-50 with 4:17 left. Two free throws from Dolabany and eight straight points from Connell put Wentworth ahead, 61-50, with 2:48 to play.
• Western New England would not go quietly, using an 8-1 run to make it 62-59 with 59 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds play, Brinkman threw the ball over the press to Stewart who made it a five-point game. One of two free throws from Restall made it 64-60 with 33 seconds left, and, after a turnover on the inbounds play, Matt House knocked down a three to make it a one-point game with 21 seconds left.
• Smith hit one of two free throws with 13 seconds left, giving Wentworth a two-point advantage. Western New England turned the ball over on its possession and Smith knocked down two more from the charity stripe to make it 67-63. After Restall made one of two free throws, Connell sealed the win with two free throws with two seconds left.
• In addition to Connell's 22, Stewart added 12 of 6-for-9 shooting and Brinkman chipped in with 11. Wentworth shot 52.3 percent from the floor for the game and held Western New England to 38.6 percent.
• Palazzesi led four Golden Bears in double figures, scoring 14 points.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Today was the 33rd all-time meeting between the two teams. Wentworth has won three of the last five meetings.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts Roger Williams on Tuesday.

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