New London, Conn.– January 7, 2012 — Junior guard Alex Berthiaume had a game-high 28 points as the Springfield College men’s basketball team, which led by as many as 22 in the second half, held off a ferocious Coast Guard comeback to beat the Bears 84-82 in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game.

Coast Guard, which made just one of eight from 3-point range in the first half, shot a sizzling 80 percent hitting 12 of 15, including 11 straight from behind the arc, in the second half. The Bears missed a pair of shots in the closing seconds that would have tied the game.

Springfield led 40-24 at halftime and took its largest lead of the game (53-31) with 15:52 left.

Coast Guard cut the lead in half, trailing 68-57 with 8:56 left, and then freshman Jesse Hughes and junior Greg Marshall hit back-to-back 3-pointers, cutting the lead to 68-63 with 7:45 left.

Sophomore Kevin Sowers hit the Bears’ 11th straight 3-pointer with 6:39 left to make the score 72-69. Senior Trip Fernandes then made back-to-back buckets, cutting the deficit to just one, 83-82, with 40 seconds left in regulation.

Springfield sophomore forward Robbie Burke, who was just two of nine from the foul line, made one of two with 14 seconds left, giving the Pride the 84-82 lead before the Bears missed a pair of shots in the paint in the closing seconds.

Burke finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Jordan Rote had nine points to go with his game-high eight rebounds for Springfield, which improves to 9-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Marshall, had 19 of his team-high 26 points in the second half, hitting 10-of-16 from the floor, including five-of-eight from 3-point range. Sophomore Devonte Weems added 12 points and a game-high five assists off the bench for the Bears. Freshman David Anderson had a team-high six rebounds in the loss.

Springfield shot 49.1 percent from the field (28-of-57) while hitting six-of-18 from 3-point range, while Coast Guard, which shot just 30 percent (9-of-30) in the first half, finished 30-of-73 (41.1 percent) while making a season-high 13 treys on 23 attempts.

The Pride outrebounded Coast Guard 45-39.

Coast Guard drops to 6-5 overall and 0-2 in the NEWMAC.