Springfield, Mass. – January 10, 2024 – The Springfield College men's basketball team was clipped by Coast Guard, 71-67, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Thursday afternoon tilt in Blake Arena.

The Bears boosted their record to 10-4, 3-2 against conference foes while the Pride dipped to 5-9, 2-3.

Sophomore John Paulino (New Bedford, Mass.) and graduate student Joe Hoch (South Ozone Park, N.Y.) guided Springfield with 17 points apiece, while junior Curtiss Blische (Barkhamsted, Conn.) notched 14 points and eight rebounds in the setback. Paulino added three rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Hoch tallied five rebounds and three assists to go along with his 17 points.
Springfield raced out to a 14-2 lead on a Paulino inside finish just under six minutes into the game, but the Bears would respond with 10 unanswered points to pull within a bucket with 9:59 remaining in the frame.  Over the next five-plus minutes, Springfield poured on a 12-2 push to extend its advantage to 26-14 following a Blische bucket in transition.  Springfield would maintain a double-digit lead into halftime, leading 34-23 behind 10 points from both Hoch and Paulino.

Coast Guard took control of the second half from the early going and rattled off a 16-3 surge in the first 6:10 as it took its first lead on a floating bucket from Elijah Parents with 13:26 on the clock.  The Bears would take a 43-39 lead, only to have Springfield answer right back with nine-straight points over the next two minutes to regain a 48-43 advantage when Paulino cashed in on a pair from the stripe. The visitors responded with another key run of their own, pouring on an 11-0 push in under three minutes to go up 54-48 as Parent connected on a triple on the left wing with under six on the clock.

A layup from Blische with 3:18 remaining made it a one possession game at 59-56, but after both teams traded three point buckets Coast Guard sank a pair of free throws and went on to win by the 71-67 final.

Springfield will return to action on Saturday, January 13 with a NEWMAC contest against WPI.

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