Springfield, Mass. – November 7, 2025 – The Springfield College men's basketball team fell by a 75-55 final at Western New England University to open its 2025-26 season on Friday night.

Western New England, now 1-0 on the year, has won five straight matchups with Springfield (0-1) dating back to the start of the 2021-22 campaign. Prior to that, the Pride had won 25 of the previous 26 meetings between the two sides.

Hunter Matteson (Dartmouth, Mass.) led Springfield both offensively and defensively nearly tallying a double double with 11 points and eight rebounds. Josiah Evely (Toronto, Ontario) chipped in with ten points, four rebounds and two steals, while Xoren Livingston (Wayland, Mass.) added eight points which including a 6-for-6 effort at the line. Four Golden Bears tallied double digit point totals highlighted by 14 points from Nate Kasper. Luka Vlajkovic played a well-rounded game for the hosts with ten points, eight boards, four assists, three blocks and a steal, while Cody Palazzesi notched 13 points, eight rebounds and two helpers.

After trading baskets to open the game, Western New England embarked on a 13-4 run that saw the Golden Bears shoot 4-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the stripe to take a 16-6 lead midway through the first. Palazzesi fueled the run with six of the hosts 13 points. A pair of free throws from Livingston cut the spurt, but an immediate trey by Will Laplante III made it 19-8.

Western New England's lead grew as large as 14 at 22-8 with 8:54 remaining in the first, but Josh Hartley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) responded with back-to-back jumpers to make it a 12-point differential. Hartley's points were just the fourth and fifth field goals for the Pride over the first 12:09 of the contest. Just minutes later Evely buried a shot from behind the arc and Livingston delivered the at the free throw line to make it a nine point game, but the hosts outscored the Pride 8-5 over the final four minutes taking a 37-25 lead into the break.

Evely opening the scoring the second half with an unassisted jump shot, but Palazzesi responded with a three of his own once again making a double digit advantage for Western New England, 40-27. Springfield made just two of its first 13 field goals over the first eight minutes of the second and were outscored 15-9 over the stretch before Western New England went on to take the game by a 75-55 final.

Springfield will travel to the University of Rochester for the 2025 Chuck Resler Tournament beginning on November 14 at the Pride take on Utica University in the opening game at 1:00 pm.

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