Springfield, Mass. - January 18, 2023 - The Springfield College men's basketball team outscored Coast Guard by a 53-35 margin in the second half as it surged past the visitors for an 85-73 victory in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Wednesday night.

With its first conference home win of the season, Springfield improved to 5-11, 2-3 in conference play, while Coast Guard dropped to 4-11, 2-3.  

Daryl Costa (Providence, R.I.) led all scorers with 23 points as he shot 9-of-15 from the floor to go along with five rebounds and four assists, while John Paulino (Bedford, Mass.) and Andrew Rocci (Plymouth, Mass.) each scored 15 points.  Josiah Evely (Toronto, Ontario) added 10 points and seven rebounds for a Springfield team that shot 33-of-69 (48%) for the game.  The difference in the contest proved to be the Pride's outside shooting in the second 20 minutes of action, as Springfield canned nine trifectas, shooting 53%.  Additionally, the hosts turned 15 Coast Guard turnovers into 23 points. 

For the visitors, Declan Rooney netted a team-best 16 points, Abe Countryman chipped in 15, Elijah Parent registered 14 points, Jarrod Jackson tallied 12, and Cameron Brown hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds.  The Bears shot just 5-of-20 from deep 

Coast Guard would jump out to a 10-0 lead in the opening three minutes of the game after Rooney buried a triple for the visitors.  The Pride would step up its defensive pressure, which keyed a 12-3 push, as Rocci converted inside to make it a 13-12 contest with 12:59 remaining in the frame. Springfield would take its first lead of the game after Evely stepped into a trifecta at the 6:55 mark at 21-19, only to have Rooney respond with his second triple of the night the next time down the floor to put the visitors back in top.   The Pride would regain a 24-22 advantage following a sensational three-point play from Nick Bray (Hartford, Conn.) in transition at 5:36, but the Bears answered with a 9-0 surge capped off by a Jackson jumper at the 3:27 mark, which pushed the lead to 31-24.  Paulino would get to the rim at 2:20 to close out an 8-3 Springfield run to make it 34-32 as the Bears would go into the half with a 38-32 lead, despite 13 points from Costa. 

Coast Guard would maintain a 51-50 lead just over six minutes into the second half before Paulino shook his defender for a step back three pointer to kickstart a game-changing 15-1 burst for the Pride as it opened up a 65-52 lead at the 8:28 mark. Rocci was sensational in the spurt as he netted 10 points for the Pride, including a pair of three-pointers.  The Bears got as close as nine points twice, but Springfield would lead by as many as 16 down the stretch as it strung together its second-straight conference win.

The Pride will play its next conference game on Saturday when it travels to Clark for a 4 pm tilt. 

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