Men's Basketball Topples Becker, 71-59, To Improve to 3-0
Becker (2-2) 24 35 59
Springfield (2-0) 27 44 71
Pts: Kareem Davis - 26
Reb: 2 Players (#01, #TM) - 8
Ast: Daniel Flaherty Jr. - 4
Pts: Jake Ross - 26
Reb: Jake Ross - 12
Ast: Trey Witter - 3
Springfield, Mass. – November 28, 2017 – The Springfield College men's basketball team used a fast start and held on for a 71-59 non-conference win over Becker on Tuesday night in Blake Arena.
The win boosts the Pride's record to 3-0, marking the fifth time in the last seven seasons that Springfield has won their first three contests. The loss drops the Hawks record to 2-3.
Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) produced his third double double of the season as he totaled 26 points and 12 boards to go along with four steals. Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.) chipped in 16 points, eight blocks, and seven rebounds, while Brandon Eckles (East Greenwich, R.I.) was one of three players with eight points and also added five rebounds. Springfield shot 26-for-53 (49.1%) from the floor and held a 30-10 edge in points in the paint.
Kareem Davis paced the visitors with 26 points and eight rebounds as he connected on six three-pointers, while Samuel Durodola registered 16 points and six boards. Becker was held to 19-for-63 (30.2%) shooting on the night.
Springfield couldn't have asked for a better start as it opened up the game with 18 unanswered points in the first 5:33, with 10 points coming from Ross. The lead would grow as many as 19 after a jumper in the paint by Cam Earle (South Hadley, Mass.) at the 12:32 mark, only to have the Hawks storm back into the contest with a 19-2 run, getting a triple by Durodola at the 2:47 mark make it a 24-22 ball game. Charlie Clay (Southborough, Mass.) cashed in an important trifecta of his own from the corner to break the Pride's drought with 1:27 remaining as the hosts would hold a 27-24 edge at the half, thanks to outscoring the Hawks, 18-4, in the paint.
A focused Springfield team wasted no time taking control of the second half, delivering a 12-0 surge in the opening 4:33 thanks to a combined 10 points from Post and Ross. Springfield held a double-digit advantage for the first 14-plus minutes of the frame before the Hawks used a 9-2 spurt to trim the lead to 56-50 with 5:20 remaining, following another Davis triple. However, consecutive three-pointers by Clay and Ross pushed the Pride's cushion back to 12 with just over four minutes to play. The visitors would get no closer than nine as Springfield held on for the 71-59 win, shooting nearly 54 percent from the field in the second 20 minutes of action.
The Pride will play its first away contest of the regular season when it makes the quick drive to face in-state foe Westfield State at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.