Nighthawks Fly High Over Wildcats

The Newbury College men's basketball team defeated a tough Wheelock College team Thursday evening, 59-57. Freshman Rondell Best (Brockton, MA/Brockton) paved the way to victory for the Nighthawks, recording his fourth double-double of the season, tallying 15 points and 15 rebounds.

After two quick Wildcat field goals, the Nighthawks rebounded and saw their lead swell to 15 points 14 minutes into the contest. Freshman guard Timothy Young (Brockton, MA/Brockton) led the way offensively with 11 points while Best played solid defense ripping down seven boards and had two steals as Newbury took a 30-24 lead into the locker room.

In the second period of action, Wheelock mounted a comeback behind junior Dan Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) who netted all 13 of his points in the half. But it was not enough as Young nearly tallied his first collegiate career double-double, dishing out seven of his eight assists in the second - including a nearside bounce pass to Best under the basket for a dunk to enlighten the crowd.  Young added five points in the half to finish the game with 15 points while senior guard Samuel Stanford (Somerville, MA/Somerville) rounded out the three Newbury players in double digits with 12.

Sophomore center Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) was one rebound shy of a double-double, leading the way for the Wildcats with a game-high 17 points and nine boards. Fellow sophomore Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) followed up with 10 points to add to Main's 13 point night.

With the win the Nighthawks improve to 3-2 in the conference and 5-9 overall while the Wildcats fall to 9-6 and 2-3 in the NECC. Newbury returns to the hard-court on Saturday January 23^rd when they travel to Cambridge, MA to face Lesley University at 3:00pm. The Nighthawks defeated the Lynx at home earlier this season on January 16^th, 68-61.

- Game story by Lindsay Graham - Staff Assistant

- Game photo provided by Samantha Yanofsky