MILTON, Mass. – Western New England outlasted Curry College, 70-57, in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action Wednesday night in Milton. The Golden Bears improved 6-11 on the season and 4-7 in CCC play, while the Colonels fell to 4-14 and 3-8 in conference action.

WNE took its biggest lead of the first half (21-14) after junior Musa Elsir (Springfield, Mass.) hit a layup with 8:14 on the clock. Curry answered with a 13-0 run to take a 27-21 lead with 4:11 left in the first frame. The run was started after junior Antonio Jones (Dorchester, Mass.) hit a pair from the charity stripe and was later capped off with a three-pointer by senior Lambros Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.). The Golden Bears closed out the first half with an 11-2 run, claiming a three-point halftime lead (32-29).

Senior Kevin Wilkes (Troy, N.Y.) converted a layup to give WNE a four-point edge (51-47) with 6:53 remaining in regulation. Jones scored the next four points to knot the game at 51-51 with 4:55 on the clock. The Golden Bears would go on to score 19 of the game's final 25 points, accounting for the 70-57 final.

Elsir poured in a game-high 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Senior Dennis Rinaldi (Harrison, N.Y.) had 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds, recording the double-double. Senior Nick DeFeo (Southington, Conn.) chipped in with 15 points and nine boards.

Jones led the Colonels with 20 points, while Papalambros added 18 points and seven rebounds. Senior Thomas McLean (Paxton, Mass.) pulled down a team-best nine boards.

Both teams return to CCC action on Saturday at 3:00 p.m., as WNE hosts Roger Williams, while Curry travels to Eastern Nazarene.