Nashua
– Chima Ezeigbo (Roanoke, Va.) notched a game high 20 points and 11 rebounds
and the Eastern Nazarene men’s basketball team overwhelmed host Daniel Webster
on the boards with 51 total rebounds on the way to a 62-55 over the
Eagles Thursday night at Mario Vagge Gymnasium.
Chris
Hanson (Salem, Mass.) led the Eagles (4-5) with 16 points while Chris Voukides
(Salem, N.H) added eight and Keith Speed (Columbus, Ohio) hit for seven. Eric
Suarez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Eagles with 10 rebounds, adding four points.
Aaron
Johnson (Boston) added 12 for the Lions, who snatched their first victory of
the season (1-10). Max Barbosa (Dorchester, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points.
Eastern
Nazarene was dominant on the offensive glass, pulling down 22 boards including
10 in the first half. ENC shot 50-percent from the field in the opening stanza
while the Eagles struggled to shoot 28-percent and the Lions held a 34-21 lead
at the break.
The
Eagles would trail by as many as 17 in the opening minute of the second before
staging a furious rally. A Steve Savage (Salem, N.H.) layup with 18:22 left and
a Hanson three from deep in the left corner sparked a remarkable 25-2 run that
consumed nearly seven minutes and put the hosts up by six (46-40). A Victor
Rios layup had tied it at 40 and Hanson followed with six quick points
including a three with 11:50 to go.
But
the Eagles couldn’t put the Lions away down the stretch. Trailing 50-44, C.J.
Gonzales (Fall River, Mass.) converted in the lane, and Johnson followed with
an inside move and added two from the line to tie it at 50 with six minutes
remaining.
A
Savage trey gave the Eagles a 55-53 edge with 2:38 left and Ezeigbo followed
inside to tie it with 1:56 left. After an Eagle miss, Johnson put the Lions up
for good with another layup with 1:24 left and Barbosa iced it with a 20-footer
with 30 seconds on the clock as the Eagles could not equalize.
The
Eagles return to action Saturday opening their NECC slate at Lesley University.
Tipoff is at 3:00 p.m.
Eastern
Nazarene hosts Endicott Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the TCCC opener for both teams.