MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's basketball team fell to visiting New England College 78-50 in non-conference action Monday night. The Colonels drop to 0-4 on the season while the Pilgrims improve to 4-1 overall.

The game was tight early as the teams traded the first five points of the contest. Curry was able to pull ahead by four at 10-6 on a made three-point jumper by Paul Preziosi (Quincy, Mass.). New England College tied the contest with 8:24 to go in the first half on a three pointer by Ricky Leonard (Windsor, Conn.) and then took the lead on a layup by Jason Jones (Roxbury, Mass.).

With the Colonels up by one, Curry was able to push the lead to 20-18 when James Pina (Warwick, R.I.) converted on a free throw opportunity.

With 3:27 to go in the first half, the Pilgrims went on 10-0 run, seven of those points coming from Leonard, to reclaim the lead at 28-20. To end the first stanza Brenndan Rogers (Hanson, Mass.) hit a three to push the lead to 11 for New England College heading into the locker room.  

Preziosi led the Colonels with eight first half points and added eight rebounds as well. Leonard posted a game-high 13 points in the first half for New England College.

The Pilgrims tallied the first five points of the second half to stretch their lead to 15 with 18:49 to go in regulation. They led by as many as 29 in the second half.

New England College would lead the whole second half and captured the game by a final of 78-50.

Curry was led by Preziosi who finished a double-double of 11 points to go along with 11 rebounds. He was followed by Pina who tallied 10 points and four rebounds. Jason O'Neil (Norton, Mass.) pitched in eight points as well.

Leonard paced all players with a game-high 17 on 7-for-17 shooting from the field, including 3-for-8 from beyond the arc. Izaiah Winston-Brooks (Roxbury, Mass.)  tallied 11 points to join Leonard as the only other Pilgrim in double figures. Rogers added 15 points off the bench for New England College.

The Pilgrims held the edge in shooting percentage (43.3%), three-point percentage (41.4%), assists, turnovers, points off turnovers and bench points. The Colonels outrebounded New England College 43-42 and had the advantage in the second chance points category, topping the Pilgrims, 13-7.

Both teams open conference play Wednesday night as the Colonels travel to Endicott for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. New England College heads to Castleton for a 5:30 p.m. contest.