BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team captured the BSU Cave Classic title on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.
The Lions even their record at 2-2 on the season with the win,
Bernie McGuinness, who earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors for Eastern Nazarene, poured in a game-high 29 points on 10 of 14 shooting including 4-for-6 from behind the arc. McGuinness also went 5-for-6 at the free throw line and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. 22 of his 29 points came in the second half.
Nick Manso was also named to the All-Tournament Team for the Lions. Manso notched 17 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line. He also added three rebounds and a pair of assists. Levi Grady-White checked with 12 points for ENC in 14 minutes of action.
Sam Stevens paced Middlebury with 19 points and five boards. Stevens represented the Panthers on the All-Tournament Team. Alex Sobel and Noah Osher also finished in double-figure scoring for Middlebury with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Sobel added seven rebounds and three blocked shots, while Osher dished out four assists.
Eastern Nazarene led 32-31 following a tightly-contested first half. Grady-White scored eight of his 12 points in the opening stanza, while Sobel led the Panthers with eight.
The Lions came out strong to open the second half outscoring the Panthers 15-6 over the first six minutes to open up a ten-point lead (47-37). McGuinness started and ended the run with a pair of three-pointers. ENC got up by as many as 17 points (63-46) in the session. The Panthers chipped away at the deficit and pulled to within six (78-72) following a pair of Jaden Bobbett free throws with just 56 seconds left to play. ENC, however, went 7-for-8 at the charity stripe over the final 53 seconds to secure the 85-75 victory.
Eastern Nazarene shot 52.6% (30-57) from the floor, 50% (10-20) from three-point range and 71% (15-21) from the free throw line. Middlebury shot 41% (27-66) from the floor and just 27% (8-30) from behind the arc and 62% (13-21) at the charity stripe. The Panthers held a 43-31 rebounding advantage with a 22-10 edge on the offensive glass.