Men's Basketball Drops Two Close Pioneer Valley Classic Games
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., December 3, 2005 - Springfield College senior guard Derek Yvon led all scorers with 26 points and was named to the All-Classic Team, but it was Western New England College which pulled out the win over the Pride in come-from-behind fashion on Saturday afternoon, December 3, in the second day of the Fifth Annual Pioneer Valley Hoop Classic, hosted by WNEC.The Golden Bears (2-3) opened the game on a 7-0 run, and held a 33-27 edge at the break. SC (1-5) chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 40 apiece on a rare four-point play by Yvon with 15:43 left in the contest. The Pride then took its largest lead at 52-46 after an Yvon basket with 9:30 left in the second half.
WNEC was too much for SC on this afternoon, however, as the Golden Bears staged a rally and went ahead for good at the 6:15 mark (59-58) after a basket from sophomore guard Ryan Hernandez. Hernandez scored a career-best 19 points off the bench for WNEC. The Golden Bears set a Classic record for three-point field goal percentage (66.7%) in the game, making 12 of their 18 shots from behind the arc.
For SC, junior forward Damian Farley (Natick, Mass.) added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, and senior forward Mike DeCesar (Acton, Mass.) chipped in with 13 points.
In opening-round action of the Pioneer Valley Hoop Classic on Friday evening (Dec. 2), the Pride fell in a very close match-up to No. 4 Amherst College, 80-74. Derek Yvon led the way with 18 points, as Mike DeCesar added 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
After falling behind in the first half by as much as 20 points (40-20) with just 4:13 left in the stanza, SC found itself down 44-28 at the break. The Pride put together an impressive rally, however, clawing its way back to within just a single point (73-72) after a lay-up from junior point guard Anthony Pizzo (Clifton Park, N.Y.) with 2:59 left in the contest. Pizzo registered eight assists against the Lord Jeffs.
SC was never able to take a lead, although, as Amherst held on for the 80-74 victory. Sophomore point guard Andrew Olson scored 18 points and compiled a Classic-record 12 assists to go along with five rebounds for the Jeffs.
SC is now 1-5 overall on the season and will next travel to Trinity College on Thursday night, December 8, for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off with the Bantams.
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Head Coach Charlie Brock
Charlie Brock in 2009-10 will enter his 12th season as the head coach at Springfield College. Brock’s achievements as a coach are certainly impressive, as he has taken three schools to the NCAA Division III Tournament and has an overall, 29-year record of 394-363 for a winning percentage of .520. Read more.