SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 13, 2025) – The Western New England men's basketball team will look to continue their run in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night with a win over Trinity College (Conn.), the fourth ranked team in NCAA Division III. WNE won their last two games by defeating Hamilton College and Montclair State University in the NCAA Championships first and second rounds, respectively, to get to the NCAA Third Round game. 

WNE's Last Two Outings:

In an 83-73 win over Hamilton College, Western New England men's basketball led by nine points at the end of the first half and then poured in 47 points in the second half to get by the Continentals. Four Golden Bears were in double figures in the win. Brian Geitner picked up 17 points on 3/8 shooting, going 1/4 from deep and was 10/12 from the free throw line to lead Western New England at the stripe. Geitner also picked up three rebounds and a steal in the victory. Tim Restall also collected 17 points for Western New England in the win, shooting 7/12 overall from the field while going 3/5 at the free throw line. Restall picked up five rebounds for the blue and gold and had one assist in the game. Cody Palazzesi continued his hot stretch from the field, picking up 14 points in the win over Hamilton, shooting 4/8 from the floor while going 6/6 at the free throw line. Palazzesi pulled down two rebounds, had two assists, and a game high four steals to help lead the Golden Bears to a win. Also in double figures in scoring was senior Jake Harrison, who came up with 13 points for the Golden Bears, shooting 5/9 overall from the floor, going 1/3 from deep and 2/3 from the free throw line. Harrison filled the stat sheet with eight rebounds, seven assists, a block, and two steals for WNE. As a team, Western New England shot 52% from the floor, going 12/25 in the first half and 14/25 in the second half. Western New England went 29/37 from the free throw line in the game, helping come away with the ten-point win. The win was the first for the Golden Bears over Hamilton College all-time and the first ever in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. 

The Golden Bears weren't done there, advancing to take on the host of the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships, the Red Hawks of Montclair State University. The opening half saw much back-and-forth action between the two teams despite Montclair's leading scorer this season, Jacob Morales, being held scoreless.  After Montclair took a 28-26 lead with 5:53 left in the opening half, Western New England would go on a 12-0 run and with 1:42 remaining, the Golden Bears had opened their first double-digit lead of the game, leading by ten. Tim Restall guided Western New England on the run, scoring half the points. The Golden Bears would lead by eight after one half of play. Western New England opened the second half on a much-needed 8-0 run as Jake Harrison, Tim Restall, Andrew Byfield, and Cody Palazzesi would all contribute, giving WNE a 16-point lead. The blue and gold would continue to cruise, building up a 19-point lead with 11 minutes to play. Montclair wouldn't get closer than 16 while Western New England held a 20-point lead multiple times and eventually would come up with a 79-61 victory, advancing to the NCAA Third Round (Sweet 16) for the first time in program history. In the game, Tim Restall produced his second 30-point game of the season, going 10/12 from the field while making 10/12 free throws. Restall also had nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals for the Golden Bears. Nate Kasper provided a spark off the bench for Western New England, coming up with five field goals on eight shots, going 3/4 at the free throw line, picking up three rebounds, an assist, and a steal, to go along with 13 points. Cody Palazzesi finished the game with 11 points while senior Jake Harrison followed suit, picking up 11 of his own while going for three rebounds, five assists, and two steals overall. 

NCAA Third Round Preview:

The Golden Bears will take on Trinity College (Conn.) for the second time this season. Trinity had the upper hand in the first meeting of the season in Springfield, defeating Western New England 60-57. Trinity got off to an 11-0 start in that contest but only led by four points at halftime. Western New England would battle back from ten down in the second half to take the lead, 45-44 with 7:05 to play on a Brian Geitner triple. Trinity had all the answers they needed that night despite Western New England keeping the game close. The Bantams would lead by eight with 2:57 to play but the battling Golden Bears did not go away quietly, coming up with a run that brought the game back to a one possession game with 1:06 left but a three-ball to tie the game at the buzzer would clank off the front of the rim and would not fall at the fourth-ranked Bantams would escape WNE, 60-57. 

Overall, this is the sixth all-time meeting between the programs. Western New England pulled off an 80-78 victory back in 2022, but Trinity has had the upper hand in the rest of the close battles against WNE, coming to a 5-1 record all-time. The Golden Bears have been unable to solve Trinity at Ray Oosting Gymnasium, going 0-3 on the road. 

Western New England Head Coach Colin Tabb, a 2002 graduate of Trinity College, is one of the all-time greats to ever play for the Bantams. Tabb's 1,367 points all-time as a Bantam still sit in the top 10 scoring list in the program's history at number seven. Tabb is also in the record books at Trinity in scoring average (5^th, 19.3), free throws made (3^rd, 319), free throws attempted (4^th, 385), free throw percentage (5^th, .820%), three-point field goals made (9^th, 154),  three-point field goals attempted (8^th, 418), assist average (8^th, 3.7), and steals average (10^th, 1.61). Tabb's 619 points in 2001-2002 are the most in a single season ever by a Bantam. His 171 free throws made and 197 attempted that same season are also in the top of the single season record board for Trinity men's basketball. Tabb's countless accolades as a Bantam, including NABC All-American (2001-02), NABC All-District (2000-01, 2001-02), ECAC Player of the Year, All-ECAC First Team (2001-02), and Second Team (2000-01), and NESCAC First Team (2001-02) live in the record books at Trinity forever. 

As head coach of the Golden Bears, Tabb will look to pick up his second career win over Trinity and first at the place he called home in four years. Tabb has guided the WNE men's basketball team for the last ten seasons, showing steady improvements from year one to now. The 23-win Golden Bears of 2024-2025 are tied with the 1989-1990 Golden Bears, who also accomplished 23 wins that season, the most in program history. Tabb has guided the Golden Bears to their first ever NCAA Championship victory in program history (vs. Hamilton) while adding to that total with last weekend's win over Montclair State University. 

The Game:

The Golden Bears will take on Trinity College from Ray Oosting Gymnasium on Friday, March 14 at 7:15 PM. The winner of the NCAA Championship Third Round game will compete on Saturday, March 15, also at 7:15 PM against the winner of the opening game on Friday, between Catholic University and Roanoke College.