Western New England College
Men's Basketball
2001-2002 Seaon News

WNEC Winter Sports Banquet Saturday, April 6, 2002

Men's Basketball Award Recipients
Downes Coaches Award – Senior Andy Thornton (Chicopee, MA)
Most Valuable Player – Junior Mike O'Connor (Farmington, CT)
Most Improved Player – Sophomore Mike McFarlane (Bridgeport, CT)

2002 GNAC North Division Champions

THREE PLAYERS SELECTED TO ALL-GNAC TEAM

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Feb. 27, 2002) — Western New England College senior center Andy Thornton (Chicopee, MA — Chicopee High School) and junior guard Mike O'Connor (Farmington, CT — Farmington High School) were named to the All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Second Team while junior forward Kris Hebert (Chicopee, MA — Chicopee High School) made the All-GNAC Third Team.

Thornton led the Golden Bears in scoring (12.5 avg.), rebounding (6.4), and field-goal percentage (49.4) this season. O'Connor was third in scoring (12.1), first in assists (102), tied for first in steals (41), and second in three point field-goals (34). Hebert was second in scoring (12.3) and rebounding (6.2), and first in free-throw percentage (81.5) and blocked shots (34).

In other GNAC news, Western New England College freshman forward Anthony Charbatji (Attleboro, MA — Attleboro High School) was named the GNAC Men's Basketball Rookie-of-the-Week on Monday (Feb. 25). He averaged 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in two playoff games while shooting 43% from the field. Charbatji also pulled down a career-high nine rebounds against Daniel Webster College. Charbatji averaged 9.9 points and 3.7 rebounds this season while shooting 48.6% from the field. He led the Golden Bears in three-point field-goal percentage (44.6).

Western New England College posted a 16-10 record for its fourth consecutive winning season under Coach Doug Pearson. The Golden Bears placed first in the GNAC North Division with a 9-4 mark and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament.

2002 GNAC Tournament
(WNEC Alumni Healthful Living Center)
Final - Saturday, Feb. 23
Championship Game

Suffolk 76, Johnson & Wales 71

2002 GNAC Tournament
(WNEC Alumni Healthful Living Center)
Semifinals - Friday, Feb. 22

Johnson & Wales 83, Western New England 69
Suffolk 95, Southern Vermont 71

2002 GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals, Feb. 20

WNEC 75, Daniel Webster 62
Johnson & Wales 78, Albertus Magnus 55
Suffolk 89, Emmanuel 61
Southern Vermont 92, Rivier 85

WNEC 75, DANIEL WEBSTER 62 (Feb. 20)

BASKETBALL CAPTAIN ANDY THORNTON SELECTED AS THE WNEC ATHLETE-OF-THE-WEEK

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Feb. 19, 2002) — Basketball captain Andy Thornton (Chicopee, MA) was honored Tuesday (Feb. 19) as the Western New England College Male Athlete-of-the-Week.

Thornton, a senior center, averaged 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in two games. He had 11 points and five rebounds against Norwich University in his first start since injuring his ankle against the Cadets last month. Thornton also made his first career three-pointer against Norwich. A business management major, Thornton leads the Golden Bears in scoring (12.7 avg.) and rebounding (6.7), and is second in field-goal percentage (50.3).

WNEC HOSTS DANIEL WEBSTER COLLEGE IN GNAC TOURNEY

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Feb. 18, 2002) — Western New England College will host Daniel Webster College at 7 p.m. Wednesday, February 20, in a quarterfinal game of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Tournament.

WNEC posted a 15-9 record and captured the GNAC North Division title with a 9-4 mark. The Golden Bears defeated the Eagles twice during the regular season by the scores of 84-57 and 97-68. Daniel Webster finished with a 4-1 record, including a 2-11 mark for fourth place in the GNAC North Division.

WNEC's Alumni Healthful Living Center will be the site of the semifinals and championship games of both the GNAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments Friday and Saturday, February 22-23.

The men's semifinal contests will take place at 6 and 8 p.m. on Friday with the championship game scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

2002 GNAC Final Regular Season Standings

North Division - 1. Western New England 9-4 (15-9) 2. tie between Rivier 7-6 (10-14) and Southern Vermont 7-6 (14-11) 4. tie between Daniel Webster 2-11 (4-21) and Norwich 2-11 (6-18)

(Overall records in parenthesis)

(Emerson ineligible for GNAC Tournament.)

WNEC 82, Norwich 49 (Feb. 16)

Southern Vermont 91, WNEC 61 (Feb. 12)

WNEC 94, Emmanuel 74 (Feb. 9)

WNEC 97, Daniel Webster 68 (Feb. 7)

WNEC 80, Albertus Magnus 58 (Feb. 5)

MIKE O'CONNOR NAMED TO GNAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Feb. 5, 2002) — Western New England College junior guard Mike O'Connor (Farmington, CT) was named Monday (Feb. 4) to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball weekly honor roll. O'Connor averaged 14.5 points in two games, including 17 points with a season high eight assists against Suffolk University.

Suffolk 83, WNEC 70 (Feb. 2)

KEENE STATE GAME CANCELLED BECAUSE OF BAD WEATHER

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Jan. 31, 2002) — Western New England College's men's basketball game at Keene State College Thursday (Jan. 31) has been canceled because of inclement weather and will not be rescheduled.

WNEC's next game will be against Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Suffolk University starting at 3 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 2) in the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Southern Vermont 69, WNEC 63 (Jan. 29)

KRIS HEBERT SELECTED TO GNAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Jan. 29, 2002) — Western New England College junior forward Kris Hebert (Chicopee, MA — Chicopee High School) was named Monday (Jan. 28) to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball weekly honor roll. Hebert averaged 14.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in victories over Norwich University, Daniel Webster College, and Rivier College. He scored 23 points and made the winning three-point play with four seconds remaining in overtime in a 71-68 road victory at Norwich on January 22.

WNEC 80, Rivier 54 (Jan. 26)

WNEC 84, Daniel Webster 57 (Jan. 24)

MIKE O'CONNOR SELECTED AS THE WNEC MALE ATHLETE-OF-THE-WEEK

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Jan. 23, 2002) — Junior basketball co-captain Mike O'Connor (Farmington, CT — Farmington High School) was honored Tuesday (Jan. 22) as the Western New England College Male Athlete-of-the-Week.

O'Connor, the starting point guard, averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in a 2-1 week. He also shot 51.5% from the field (17-for-33) and 76.9% from the foul line (10-for-13). O'Connor had 18 points in an 83-78 win at Westfield State College and 17 points in a 75-66 win at Johnson & Wales University.

A sport management major, O'Connor is second on the squad in scoring (12.2 avg.) and steals (24), and first in assists (41).

WNEC (9-6 with a three-game winning streak) hosts Daniel Webster College at 7 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 24).

WNEC 71, Norwich 68 (ot) (Jan. 21)

WNEC 75, Johnson & Wales 66 (Jan. 19)

WNEC 83, Westfield State 78 (Jan. 17)

Rivier 82, WNEC 78 (ot) (Jan. 15)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Jan. 10, 2002) — Six Western New England College players spent Thursday morning visiting first-graders at the Mile Tree Elementary School in Wilbraham.

Senior forward Jeff Schrandt , senior center Andy Thornton , junior forward Tony Mazzarella , junior guard Gerry Toney , sophomore guard Ryan Callahan , and sophomore forward Mike McFarlane showed the kids some basic basketball drills. They also made a lot of new friends in the process.

The players were invited to the school by teacher Pam Pearson , the wife of WNEC coach Doug Pearson.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Jan. 7, 2002) — Western New England College junior guard Gerry Toney (West Hartford, CT — Conard High School) was honored Monday as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Player-of-the-Week.

An engineering major, Toney scored a career high 22 points on eight-of-11 shooting from the field (including six-of-eight three pointers) in a 71-56 win over host WPI last Saturday (Jan. 5) that helped the Golden Bears (4-4) break a two-game losing streak.

PIONEER VALLEY HOOP CLASSIC (Dec. 8)
Springfield 69, WNEC 49
Amherst 75, Westfield State 64

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Dec. 8, 2001) — Senior guard Shahid Abdul-Karim (Princeton, NJ) led four players scoring in double figures with a career high 17 points as Springfield College ran its winning streak to six games with a 69-49 victory over host Western New England College in a second round game of the inaugural Pioneer Valley Hoop Classic.

Springfield (6-1) led 39-28 at halftime, but WNEC (3-4) went on a mild 8-0 run to pull within eight at 44-36 after a free throw by freshman forward Anthony Charbatji (Attleboro, MA) with 15:47 left in the game.

The Golden Bears, however, could score only seven points over an 11-minute span, and when Abdul-Karim hit two free throws with 4:54 left in the contest, Springfield held a commanding 61-43 lead.

Junior forward Jonathan Trant (Providence, RI) contributed 14 points while senior guard John Gleason (Northampton, MA) added 12 points. Senior forward Michael Parker (Kingston, NY) had a double-double with 11 points and a game high 14 rebounds. He also dished out four assists and had two steals.

Western New England College senior center Andy Thornton (Chicopee, MA) also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

In the first game Saturday, junior forward Steve Zieja (Hadley, MA) scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, and pulled down nine rebounds, to lead Amherst College to a 75-64 victory over upset-minded Westfield State College

The victory improved the Lord Jeffs' record to 5-1 and gave Coach Dave Hixon his 399th career victory at his alma mater. Hixon, a 1975 Amherst graduate, has an all-time record of 399-198 in 25 years for an impressive 66.8 winning percentage.

Amherst led 33-31 at halftime, but the Owls used a 10-0 run to take a 41-35 lead after a basket by sophomore forward Vaso Jaukovic (Montenegro, Yugoslavia) with 14:28 remaining in the game. The Lord Jeffs responded with a 22-7 run over the next eight minutes to take a 57-48 lead after sophomore guard John Donovan (Holmdel, NJ) nailed a three-pointer with 6:32 left in the contest.

Westfield State pulled within four at 57-53 following two free throws by junior guard Mitch Mitchell (Carver, MA) with 5:56 remaining, but Amherst pulled away down the stretch.

Also scoring in double figures for Amherst were junior center Pat Fitzsimons (Durham, NC) who had 16 points (with seven rebounds) and Donovan who finished with 13 off the bench.

Westfield State had four players score in double figures led by Jaukovic (17). Senior forward Bryant James (Holyoke, MA) had 12 points while senior forward Ryan Rea (Winsted, CT) had 11 and Mitchell 10.

PIONEER VALLEY HOOP CLASSIC (Dec. 7)
Amherst 75, WNEC 60
Springfield 80, Westfield State 63

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Dec. 7, 2001) — Junior forward Steve Zieja (Hadley, MA) had a double-double with game highs of 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead Amherst College to a 75-60 victory over host Western New England College in the opening round game of the inaugural Pioneer Valley Hoop Classic.

The Lord Jeffs (4-1), who led by 12 at halftime (38-26), built their largest lead at 52-31 when Zieja drilled a three-pointer with 15:18 remaining in the contest.

Western New England battled back and pulled within eight (64-56) when senior forward Jeff Schrandt (Avon, CT) made a three-point play with 4:09 left in the game.

Amherst held the Golden Bears to only four points down the stretch. Senior forward Pat Taverna (Whitesboro, NY) contributed 12 points, four rebounds, three blocked shots, and two steals for the Lord Jeffs while junior guard Ryan Faulkner (Lebanon, NH) added 10 points, five assists, and three steals.

WNEC (3-3) received a solid performance from senior center Andy Thornton (Chicopee, MA) who had 17 points with team high eight rebounds. Junior guard Mike O'Connor (Farmington, CT) chipped in with 15 points and four rebounds while junior guard Gerry Toney (West Hartford, CT) added 11 points, four rebounds, and three steals.

In the second game, senior guard John Gleason (Northampton, MA) scored a game high 22 points and senior forward Michael Parker (Kingston, NY) added a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds as Springfield College ran its winning streak to five games with an easy 80-63 victory over Westfield State College.

Also scoring in double figures for the Pride (5-1) were junior guard Jonathan Trant (Providence, RI) and junior center Adetokunbo Adewuyi (Providence, RI) who had 13 and 12 points, respectively, off the bench.

Springfield (5-1) led 37-27 at halftime and was never threatened in the second half.

Junior guard Ethan Slavin (Mohegan Lake, NY) came off the bench to lead Westfield State with 11 points while senior forward Bryant James (Holyoke, MA) also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Each team scored 30 field goals, but Springfield held the edge at the foul line making 26-of-34 shots compared to 9-of-13 for the Owls (2-5).

WESTERN NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE SET TO HOST INAUGURAL PIONEER VALLEY HOOP CLASSIC

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Dec. 5, 2001) — Western New England College's Alumni Healthful Living Center will be the site of the inaugural Pioneer Valley Hoop Classic men's basketball tournament on Friday and Saturday, December 7-8.

In opening round action Friday (Dec. 7), WNEC (3-2) meets Amherst College (3-1) at 5:30 p.m. followed by a game between Springfield College (4-1)and Westfield State College (2-4) at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday (Dec. 8), Amherst will play Westfield State at 4 p.m. with Western New England playing Springfield at 6.

Because of the Classic format, there will be no tournament champion.

"We're looking forward to an exciting weekend of basketball," said Western New England College athletics director Mike Theulen . "This is a great opportunity to showcase Division III basketball while getting involved with community projects. The possibilities of our combined outreach in the form of clinics and community partnerships are endless, and we expect to do more in the future."

The Dunbar Community Center in Springfield will be the special guest of Western New England College during the weekend. Boys and girls youth teams will perform at half-time of the first three games. In addition, all proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Dunbar Community Center.

The West-District Ball-Handling Team from Farmington, Connecticut will perform during half-time of the WNEC-Springfield game on Saturday. The squad consists of students in grades three through five from the West District Elementary School under the direction of Bob O'Connor , the father of WNEC junior guard and team co-captain Mike O'Connor .

Tickets are $5 for adults with all students and children admitted free. Senior citizens will be admitted free, along with Western New England College faculty and staff upon presentation of their school ID cards.

WNEC DOWNS MCLA IN HOME OPENER, 80-72

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Dec. 4, 2001) — Junior center Andy Thornton of Chicopee led four players scoring in double figures with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting as Western New England College won its home opener with an 80-72 victory over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

The Golden Bears are now 3-2 while the Mohawks fall to 1-5.

Junior guard Mike O'Connor added 17 points while junior forward Kris Hebert of Chicopee had a double-double with 13 points and a career high 12 rebounds. Junior guard Gerry Toney contributed 13 points. O'Connor and Toney each had four assists.

WNEC led 37-34 at halftime and had a 10-point lead at 69-59 with 4:58 remaining, but the Mohawks could get no closer than four (76-72) down the stretch.

FITCHBURG STATE 84, WNEC 78 (Nov. 29)

WNEC DROPS FI RST GAME OF SEASON AT WESLEYAN, 97-82

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (Nov. 26, 2001) — Wesleyan University handed Western New England College its first lost of the season after taking a 97-82 non-conference victory. Senior forward Jeff Schrandt (Avon, CT) posted career highs of 26 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Bears (2-1) who visit Fitchburg State College Thursday (Nov. 29).

KRIS HEBERT SELECTED AS THE WNEC ATHLETE-OF-THE-WEEK

Andy Thornton also gains honors

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Nov. 20, 2001) — Men's basketball forward Kris Hebert (Chicopee, MA) was honored Tuesday (Nov. 20) as the Western New England College Athlete-of-the-Week.

Hebert, a junior, made a successful return to the starting lineup by averaging 23.0 points while shooting a remarkable 77.3% from the field (17-for-22) in two wins as the Golden Bears opened their season by winning the Hartwick Holiday Inn Tournament.

Hebert played in only 12 games as freshman and missed last year with a knee injury.

The 6'5" Hebert scored a game high 24 points (9-10 from the field) with three rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots in a 91-75 win over Rhode Island College on November 16. He added 22 points (8-12 from the field) with three rebounds and two blocked shots in an 87-77 victory over SUNY Oneonta on November 17.

For his efforts, Hebert also was selected Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Player-of-the-Week on November 19 and named to the Hartwick All-Tournament Team.

Western New England College senior center Andy Thornton (Chicopee, MA) was voted the MVP of the Hartwick Tournament after averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds. He had 10 points and six rebounds against Rhode Island College and contributed 18 points and a game high 14 rebounds against SUNY Oneonta in the championship game.

The 6'4" Thornton also was selected to the weekly Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) honor roll. Thornton is serving as a team captain this season.

Western New England (2-0) returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Monday, November 26, against Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.

WESTERN NEW ENGLAND BEATS SUNY ONEONTA 87-77 TO WIN HARTWICK HOLIDAY INN

ONEONTA, N.Y . (Nov. 17, 2001) — Western New England College defeated SUNY Oneonta 87-77 to win the Hartwick Holiday Inn Tournament. Senior center Andy Thornton (Chicopee, MA) had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and was named the tournament MVP. Junior forward Kris Hebert (Chicopee, MA) contributed 22 points in earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

WNEC OPENS SEASON WITH 91-75 WIN OVER RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE

ONEONTA, N.Y . (Nov. 16, 2001) — Western New England College opened its season with a 91-75 win over Rhode Island College at the Hartwick Holiday Inn Invitational. Junior forward Kris Hebert (Chicopee, MA) made a successful return to the lineup by scoring a game-high 24 points. Hebert had missed the last year-and-a-half with a knee injury. Junior guard Gerry Toney (West Hartford, CT) contributed 13 points while senior center Andy Thornton (Chicopee, MA) added 10 points

News from the 2003 Season

News from the 2001-02 Season

News from the 2000-01 Season

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