SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – For the second time in program history, Suffolk men's basketball sealed its spot in a conference championship contest as the sixth-seeded Rams upset second-seed Western New England, 74-63, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Semifinals Thursday at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 74 | Western New England 63
RECORDS: Suffolk (15-11) | Western New England (19-8)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
A slow start by Suffolk put the Rams in a six-point, 8-2 hole they had to climb out of. Over the next eight minutes, the blue-and-gold outscored the Golden Bears, 12-3, to go up 14-11.  

After Evan Cook converted a traditional 3-point play, WNE leveled the playing field at 16 and regained the advantage on an old school 3-point play of its own by Tim Restall. The Golden Bears remained in front, 25-20, with 2:54 to go before halftime.  

Cole LeVangie sandwiched 3-pointers around a Restall jumper to send Suffolk into the break down just one, 27-26. 

Five minutes out of the locker room, Suffolk still trailed by one, 38-37. Back-to-back buckets from Danny Yardemian pushed the Rams in front, 41-38, which forced WNE into a timeout.  

Out of the huddle, the Golden Bears evened things once more, at 41, before Suffolk started putting distance on board. Nick Verdile wrapped two triples around a WNE hoop to stretch the gap to four, 47-43, at 12:34 mark, before that grew to nine, 63-54, with just over five minutes remaining after LeVangie hit a hoop from three-point range and Owen Walters scored a lay-up. 

Cook made a trip to the free throw line into two points to stretch the margin to double figures before grad student knocked down a trey to lengthend the margin to 12, 68-56, with 3:11 on the clock.  

The blue-and-gold hit shots when it needed and used the clock to its advantage down the stretch to secure its spot in the CCC title tilt.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Robertson registered 18 points on a 7-for-13 showing from the floor with a 4-for-5 effort at the line to go along with seven boards, three assists, three steals and one block. 
• LeVangie logged 13 points on a 5-for-7 effort from the field that included a 3-for-5 showing from behind-the-arc. The junior added three caroms, two helpers, one swat and one set-up. 
• Cook and Yardemian both supplied 11 points. 
• Cook chipped in six boards, three dimes and one block. 
• Yardemian added five rebounds, four handouts and three steals. 
• Suffolk shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the floor, 43.8 percent (7-16) from 3-point range and 81.3 percent (13-16) from 3-point land. 
• The Rams outrebounded the Golden Bears, 37-33.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk advances to the CCC Championship for the first time in program history. 
• Suffolk moved onto a conference championship contest for the second time in program history, first since 2002. 
• Suffolk is now 2-4 in a conference semifinal. 
• The Rams are 2-4 in a conference semifinal with its lone win coming in 2002. 
• Suffolk made its second semifinal run in its CCC tenure, first since 2022. 
• Under Jeff Juron's guidance, Suffolk is 4-7 in the postseason and 3-3 in the CCC Tournament. 
• Suffolk snapped a five-game skid against Western New England. 
• The Rams are now 10-19 all-time against Western New England. 
• Suffolk defeated the Golden Bears for the first time since Dec. 4, 2021, a 100-62 decision. 
• In Springfield, the Rams are 5-10 against WNE. 
• The blue-and-gold is 3-5 versus WNE with Juron on the bench.
• Suffolk and WNE met in the CCC Tournament for the first time. 
• The Rams defeated the Golden Bears in a conference postseason contest for the first time after meeting WNE three times in the GNAC postseason. 
• It was the first time Suffolk played WNE in a league postseason since 2006. 
• Suffolk and WNE battled in a conference semifinal for the second time, first since the 2001 GNAC Semis.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk heads to Bristol, Rhode Island, Saturday, Feb. 24 to face fifth seed Roger Williams in the CCC Championship. Tip-off time is set for 3 p.m.