Men’s Basketball Stumbles at UNE in Conference Action, 99-65

Men’s Basketball Stumbles at UNE in Conference Action, 99-65

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Tom Nason (Milton, N.H.) tallied a career-high 18 points to pace the University of New England in a 99-65 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball triumph over Curry College on Wednesday evening (Feb. 8) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Nor'easters (7-15, 5-10 CCC) led the whole way, getting out to a 17-2 cushion through six minutes of action. The first-half spread peaked at 27 (44-17) before Big Blue settled on double its opponents' total (50-25) at the break.

UNE turned a dozen offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points during the period, and still shot 49 percent from the field. Meanwhile, the Colonels (1-21, 0-15 CCC) connected at a 30-percent rate.

Nason added eight rebounds and a pair of blocks to his point-production, which included his first-ever three-pointer on just his second attempt (first since 2013-14). CJ Autry (Standish, Maine) contributed 15 points and six boards, while Jean-Luc Parker (Georgetown, Texas) and Drew Muniz (Gloucester, Mass.) went for 14 and 10 points, respectively. Eight points apiece came from Gavin Dibble (Greenport, N.Y.), Zachary Kupferberg (Chicago, Ill.), and Ryan Matthews (Park Ridge, N.J.), and all but one of the 13 players in uniform found their way into the scoring column.

Drew Coveney (Londonderry, N.H.) and Daron Hoges, Jr. (West Orange, N.J.) shared the team-high of eight rebounds with Nason, as the Nor'easters dominated the glass by a 60-37 margin. In the end, the hosts racked up 23 offensive caroms and shot 44 percent from the floor.

For Curry, Ryan Beatty (Rochester, Mass.) came off the bench to register 15 points, seven boards, and three blocks. Kieran Carroll (Greenwich, Conn.) posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Jared Thorpe-Johnson (Dorchester, Mass.) wound up with 12 points and five assists. Dwayne Boothe (Jamaica, N.Y.) chipped in with eight points and three rejections.

UNE will look to make it two in-a-row on Saturday (3 p.m.) when Eastern Nazarene College (7-8 CCC) comes into town. The Colonels will be back at home to face Western New England University (3-12 CCC) at the same time.

(Game Recap Courtesy of University of New England Sports Information)