DANBURY, Conn. - Senior guard
Elijah Jean-Guillaume (New Haven, Conn.) came off the bench to pour in a team-high 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 12 of them in the second half, and the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball squad upended NESCAC powerhouse Bates College, 66-58, on Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena to improve to 2-0. It marked the first meeting between the two teams since 2004 and both are seeking redemption after being eliminated in their respective first round matchups of the NCAA Tournament last year.
The Bobcats raced out to a 7-3 lead, but the Wolves closed the first half strong. Junior guard Armaan Sandhu (Abbotsford, British Columbia) buried all three of his first-half three-pointers for nine points, and junior guard Makai Coleman (Newtown, Conn.) added a trifecta late to give WestConn a 33-23 lead with under two minutes left. Bates trimmed it to 33-27 at halftime.
Jean-Guillaume took over in the second half. His jumper at 10:27 made it 49-39, and Bates fought back to within four, 47-51, at 6:04. Jean-Guillaume answered with a jumper, then a three off a Sandhu pass, pushing the lead to nine. Moments later, he converted a layup from sophomore guard/forward Avery Taitt-Christina (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) and sank the free throw on the three-point play for a 59-52 lead. Bates never got closer than four points, and WestConn sealed it at the line. Sophomore guard Jaeden Bull (New Castle, Del.) finished a fast-break layup after a steal, and junior center Marcel Henry (Yonkers, N.Y.) knocked down a trio of free throws in the final minute.
Henry finished with 11 points, and Bull tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Taitt-Christina contributed nine points, three assists and three blocks, and Coleman chipped in with seven points. WestConn forced 24 turnovers, turned them into 27 points to Bates' 10, while holding the visitors to 31.1% shooting (19-for-61) and 3-for-25 from three-point range.
The Bobcats dominated the glass 50-26, grabbing 25 offensive rebounds and turning them into 16 second-chance points to WestConn's six, but couldn't capitalize on the extra possessions. Cole Decker led Bates with 11 point and Sean O'Leary scored eight while going 6-for-6 from the line. Babacar Pouye added eight points and eight rebounds.
WestConn shot 44.9% (22-for-49), connected on 5-of-12 three-pointers and 17-of-23 free throws, while winning the bench scoring battle 25-20. It was the season opener for Bates, who moved to 0-1. The Wolves don't get much time to enjoy the victory. They seek to build on the momentum tomorrow when they host non-league foe Saint John's University at 1 p.m.
