Springfield, Mass. - November 5, 2021 - The Springfield College men's basketball team opened up the 2021-22 campaign on Friday night and suffered a 80-68 setback at Western New England in the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Springfield, which was receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason National Poll, played for the first time since its appearance in the 2020 NCAA Division III Championship Second Round, a span of 608 days.

The Pride had four student-athletes score in double figures, as sophomores Cameron Garber (Billerica, Mass.) and Zeke Blauner (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) made their collegiate debuts with 12 points.  Daryl Costa (Providence, R.I.) added 11 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, and Panayiotis Kapanides (Bedford, Mass.) chipped in 11 points off the bench.  Collin Lindsay (East Longmeadow, Mass.) totaled a team-best eight rebounds as Springfield shot 38% from the field (27-71), bolstered by a 7-for-13 performance from beyond the arc.

WNE was paced by 25 points from Alex Sikorski and 13 boards and eight points by Kenny Flynn.  The hosts shot 29-for-60 (48.3%) and went to the line 35 times in the game, resulting in 21 points. 

The Pride jumped out to an 8-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest after Costa drilled a triple, but the Golden Bears would respond with a 15-6 push over the next seven-plus minutes to snag a 17-14 edge with just under 10 minutes left in the frame. Following a pair from the charity stripe by Casey Lane (Wilton, N.H.) that put the visitors on top 26-23 at 5:05, WNE answered with a 9-2 surge as their lead ballooned to 35-28.  WNE would head into the break with a 35-32 lead as Costa scored his eighth point of the night on an inside finish on the Pride's final possession of the frame.

After trailing by as many as seven in the early parts of the second half, Springfield trimmed WNE's lead to 49-47 when Lindsay knocked down a step-back jumper with 10:51 left to play. However, the Golden Bears answered with a 9-0 burst in just over two minutes to snag an 11-point edge at 58-47.  The lead would grow to 68-55 with 5:19 on the clock, but the Pride made one final push, as a pair of Garber buckets sandwiched a Costa trifecta to pull Springfield within 68-62 with under four to play.  WNE would close things out though with an 11-2 push to grow their advantage to 15 en route to the 12-point non-conference victory.

Springfield will now gear up to play at Roger Williams next Friday evening at 6 pm. 

 For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Springfield "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.