MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's basketball team fell by an 93-60 final to the University of New England on Thursday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play at Katz Gymnasium.
Freshman Siddiq Canty (Dallas, Texas) notched a game-high 29 points while adding three rebounds and four steals for the visiting Nor'easters (7-6 overall, 2-3 CCC). He shot 11-for-18 from the field and was one of four UNE players to reach double figures. Junior Alex Kravchuk (Mansfield, Conn.) posted 17 points and four boards. Senior Jackson McCoy (East Montpelier, Vt.) pitched in a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Avery DeBrito (New Bedford, Mass.) rounded out the scorers in double figures with 12 points in a starting role.
Senior Daymeann Stewart (Milwaukee, Wis.) led the Colonels (4-9 overall, 0-4 CCC) with 22 points, including three field goals from beyond the arc. Freshman Michael Ashley (Atlanta, Ga.) just missed a double-double with nine points and eight boards. Ashley also registered three assists, two steals, and two blocks in 27 minutes. Senior Spencer Feng (Keene, N.H.) paced the Curry reserves with nine points on 3-for-6 shooting from three-point range.
The Nor'easters, who outrebounded the Colonels 50-35 and held a 40-16 scoring advantage in the paint, also helped its own cause by forcing 26 that resulted in 25 points. UNE shot 38.9 percent in the first half but heated up to finish at 44.7 percent in the contest. In all, the Nor'easter bench tallied 19 points to 18 for Curry.
The teams were close over the opening eight minutes with Curry within two after a layup from freshman Zac Rafano (South River, N.J.) to make the score 14-12 with 12:32 left in the first half. The Noreasters followed with an 31-12 run to open a 21-point advantage at the break (45-24).
UNE continued to click over the opening five minutes of the second as the lead expanded to 31 (63-32) after a triple by Canty. The Colonels cut the margin to 25 (67-42) following two successful free throws by Stewart to cap a 7-0 run. That is as close as Curry would get the rest of the way as the lead ballooned to as many as 35 before settling at 33 in the 93-60 final.
Curry will next play at Salve Regina University on Saturday, January 11 at 3:00 p.m. UNE hosts Nichols College for its next game on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
