Pilgrims Grab Lead Late, Fend Off Eastern Nazarene

Aaron Johnson scored a team high 19 points and made 4 steals in Tuesday's 78-86 loss to New England College.

ENC Athletic Site: Published: 2011-02-08

New England College over came numerous deficits that reached as high as 9 points late in the first half as they shot their way to a 86-78 win Tuesday night over The Commonwealth Coast Conference opponent Eastern Nazarene.

Eastern Nazarene came out in perfect rhythm connecting on their first three shots of the game to jump out to a quick 7-2 lead. The Lions kept their offensive pace and stretched their lead to nine at 28-19 following a transition layup by sophomore John Cramer and a three pointer by sophomore Aaron Johnson.

The Pilgrims regrouped and put together an 11-3 run over a three minute span that drew them to within one with 4:15 to play in the opening period. After trading buckets for the next four trips down the floor, New England’s Abdirahman Mohamed hit the backend of two free throws to tie the game at 37 headed into the locker room at half time.

Eastern Nazarene found its stroke once again to open up the second half as a John Flakes netted a layup and Max Barbosa drained back to back jumpers to stretch the Lions’ lead to 6 points three minutes into the second half.

New England chipped away at the lead throughout until a Michael Ingram- Rubin three pointer with 6:52 remaining put the Pilgrims ahead for the first time in the second half, 67-66. The Pilgrims offense never looked back as it stretched its lead to as many as 9 before sealing the game on the free throw line late for the 8 point victory.

Eastern Nazarene had four players score in double figures and was led by C.J. Gonzales’ season high 18 points. Gonzales also pulled in four rebounds and blocked two shots. Johnson scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half while Flakes and Barbosa finished with 15 and 13 points respectively. Flakes led the Lions on the rebounding end with 10 to notch his 9th double- double of the season.

New England College’s 52.5% shooting performance was headed by senior Shane Hennessey who score 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds before getting into foul trouble with five minutes left to play. Fellow senior Joe Faragher tallied 12 points and 12 rebounds while Ingram-Rubin finished with 12 points. Freshman guard Troy Prather netted 10 points to round out the Pilgrim’s double digit scorers.

The Lions will remain at home as they fight to stay alive in the TCCC post-season race on Saturday as they host Nichols College, but first, the team will hit the road for a non-conference game against Newbury College on Thursday. Tip off is set for 7pm.