Men’s Basketball Takes Down UNE, 84-74

BOSTON – Danny Yardemian and Keenan Robertson commanded the Suffolk men's basketball team to a scrappy 84-74 Commonwealth Coast Conference win over the University of New England Thursday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. The duo had a hand in 75 percent of the Rams 28 field goals made and scored 46.4 percent of the blue-and-gold's offensive output.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 84 | University of New England 74
RECORDS: Suffolk (6-5, 3-2 CCC) | University of New England (5-7, 0-4 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's 10-2 lead four minutes into the action was slowly chipped away. UNE mounted a comeback and the first of what would be nine lead exchanges in the first 20 minutes coming at the 12:14 mark when Connor Curcio knocked down a trey for the Nor'easters.  

Evan Cook restored the upper hand for the blue-and-gold with 4:11 left in the first half mark with a triple. The score would knot twice more before halftime, but the Rams remained in front as the teams headed to the locker room, 43-38. 

Five minutes into the second half Suffolk built an 11-point distance, 51-40. UNE didn't count itself out of it just yet as it stormed back on 7-0 run to make it a one-possession game with plenty of time left on the clock, 13:55.  

Hoop-for-hoop action which saw the score lock at 53 ended when Yardemian knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:16 remaining in regulation. That shot behind-the-arc ignited seven straight Suffolk points that pushed the host ahead, 68-60, with 4:21 to play.

Fouls and free throws played a factor the rest of the way. Thankfully, Suffolk took care of business at the charity stripe, created a 12-point margin, 74-62, with just over two minutes remaining to lock up the conference victory. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Robertson finished with a game-high 20 points on a 7-for-10 night from the field. He went 6-for-10 at the free throw line and added eight boards, one assist and one steal. 
• Yardemian's night featured a 19-point performance on a 7-for-14 effort from the floor as well as six boards, six assists and six steals. 
• Cole LeVangie and Cook each supplied 12 points to Suffolk's offense. 
• LeVangie shot 4-for-9 on the night, including a 2-for-5 showing from 3-point range. The junior addeed six caroms, one takeaway and one helper. 
• Cook chipped in four boards, one dime and one steal to his scoring output. 
• Suffolk outrebounded UNE, 43-31. 
• Both teams had 14 turnovers. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk moved to 14-11 in the all-time series with UNE that dates back to 1980.
• Suffolk improved to 7-6 versus UNE in Boston.
• The Rams are now 4-1 against UNE in the Jeff Juron era. 
• Yardemian matched a career-high in field goals made (7) and assists (6) and set-up a personal-best six shots.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk looks to keep its winning ways going Saturday, Jan. 6 when Wentworth stops by Smith Court for a 3 p.m. CCC showdown.