Quincy, MA. January 20, 2010- Led by Max Barbosa’s 29 point effort,
the Eastern Nazarene Lions defeated the University of New England Nor’Easters,
71-64, with an outstanding second half effort at the Lahue P.E. Center on the
campus of Eastern Nazarene College. The comeback win boosts ENC to 4-12 (2-2
TCCC) as UNE falls to 5-9 (2-2 TCCC).
Trailing by
eight, 34-26, the Lions started the second half with a 8-1 run, due to
determined play underneath the basket by Chima
Ezeigbo (Roanoke, VA), and cut the lead to one, 35-34. Both teams traded
leads, and UNE held the edge 41-40 with fifteen minutes left. But Barbosa drained two threes with less than
ten minutes left and the Lions saw their largest lead of the night at 54-46.
The
Nor’Easters refused to give up, and answered with a 7-2 run of their own as the
Lions clung to a 56-53 lead. With less
than a minute to play, leading by four, 65-61, Barbosa stamped the game with
his presence as he blocked a shot, grabbed its’ rebound, drew a foul, making
its’ two shots and two more from a technical to push the lead to eight, 69-61,
with thirty seconds left. The visitors
hit a three but the game was all but closed when Aaron Johnson (Boston, MA) sank two free throws to make an insurmountable
lead with just seconds remaining on the clock.
The Lions picked up their second TCCC win of the year with a 71-64
victory.
The Lions
led early thanks to five consecutive points by Max Barbosa (Dorchester, MA) but UNE stormed back to take the 8-6
lead. The Nor’easter’s tough defense
held the Lions under ten points, 16-9, until the seven minute mark, when Keith
Branch (Boston, MA) converted two free throws to and a trey to stay within ten,
24-14. A physical first half saw a
combined 29 total fouls as both teams reached the double bonus early in the
game. With the visitors featuring a full
court press, they forced the Lions into 13 first half turnovers, yet the home
team only trailed by eight, 34-26, going into the locker room.
Barbosa was clutch with 29 pts, shooting 5-11 from behind the three point arc while Ezeigbo tallied a double-double with 14 pts and 13 rebs in the conference
win. Quentin Thompson (Austin, TX)
scored 19 pts for UNE and Chas Renthrope (Peoria, AZ) scored 18.
In a game of 44 turnovers and 49 fouls, the Nor'easters won the turnover battle 28-16 scoring 26 points off of turnovers. While the Lions shot 40% from the field, the visiting Nor'easters only shot 7% points better from the free throw line, hitting only 47% (16 for 34) at the charity stripe.
ENC travels
to Regis College this Saturday in a TCCC match up while UNE faces Anna Maria at
home on the same day.
Contributed
by Ben Wilson.