Men’s Basketball Starts CNE Play with 84-75 Win at UNE

BIDDEFORD, Maine – Suffolk men's basketball got its Conference of New England (CNE) schedule underway in winning fashion as the Rams took down the University of New England, 84-75, Wednesday night at Harold Alfond Forum.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 84 | University of New England 75
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-2, 1-0 CNE) | University of New England (2-6, 0-1 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED 
It took a few minutes for both sides to get the scoring underway. Once the Rams managed to find the bottom of the net they hopped ahead 9-3 4:10 into the action. The Nor'Easters stormed back with seven unanswered points to flip the script in their favor, 10-9.  

That lead exchanged would be the first of 10 in the first half as a back-and-forth affair ensued and ended in Suffolk's favor as Devin Dzikas put away a long ball to send the Rams into the locker room with a 41-39 edge.  

A pair of blue-and-gold buckets out of the intermission padded the margin in Suffolk's favor to six, 45-39.  

From there, the Rams managed to remain in front as it had a response for each of the Nor'Easter comeback attempts to preserve the conference-opening victory. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Keenan Robertson assembled a 26-point, 11-rebound double-double with seven assists and two steals. The senior shot 40 percent (8-20) from the field and 90 percent (9-10) at the line. 
• Danny Yardemian registered 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half, on an 8-for-13 showing from the floor. He added eight helpers, seven boards and three steals. 
• Cole LeVangie was lights out from downtown. The senior went 5-for-8 behind-the-arc to finish with 15 points. His stat line also featured four caroms and one takeaway. 
• As a team, Suffolk shot 52.6 percent (30-57) from the floor, 46.2 percent (12-26) from 3-point land and 66.7 percent (12-18) at the line. 
• The Rams outrebounded the Nor'Easters, 40-30. 
• Suffolk scored 11 points in transition.  

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams moved to 3-1 in CNE openers all-time. 
• The Rams are unbeaten in its first CNE contest of the season on the road, 2-0. 
• The blue-and-gold clashed with the Nor'Easters in the first CNE outing of the season for the second time, first since 2021-22. 
• The Rams are undefeated versus UNE in the first conference contest of a campaign. 
• Suffolk compiled back-to-back CNE opening wins for the first time in program history. 
• The Rams are 16-10 in their first league contest of the year. 
• Suffolk started its conference calendar on the road for the second straight season. 
• The blue-and-gold is 6-3 in league debuts under Jeff Juron's guidance. 
• Suffolk defeated UNE for the first time since Jan. 4, 2024. 
• The Rams moved to 15-12 all-time against UNE. 
• Suffolk is now 8-6 against the Nor'Easters in Biddeford, Maine. 
• The Rams are 5-2 against UNE in the Juron era. 
• Robertson had his second double-double of the season and ninth of his collegiate career. 
• Robertson handed out a career-high seven assists. 
• Yardemian matched a personal-best eight dimes. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk looks to keep its winning ways going Saturday, Dec. 7 when it entertains Curry at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court in a CNE showdown at 3:00 p.m.