The men’s basketball team (7-4) defeated the University of Massachusetts Lowell (5-3) 73-63 last Wednesday before topping Sacred Heart University (3-6) Sunday by a 79-66 scoreline. With these two victories and a Nov. 28 win over Quinnipiac University (4-4), Brown put together its first three game win streak of the season.
Brown 73, UMass Lowell 63
Captain Tamenang Choh GS scored a career high 26 points, including his 1000th career point, in front of his hometown crowd of Lowell, Massachusetts to help the Bears beat the River Hawks. Choh became the 32nd player in program history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. Along with his 26 points against UMass Lowell, Choh grabbed seven rebounds and one steal to contribute toward the win.
Co-captain David Mitchell ’22 also posted a career-high in scoring against the River Hawks with 14 points along with four rebounds and three steals. Kino Lilly Jr. ’25 earned his first collegiate start and added 15 points and three steals, while Paxson Wojcik ’23 put up a team high four assists and four steals.
The Bears started slow offensively and took their first lead of the game at the 10:34 mark of the first half, pulling ahead 15-14. After two lead changes, a bucket each from Choh and forward Jaylen Gainey ’22 helped Brown pick up momentum. The Bears ended the first half with a 33-28 advantage.
Brown started off hot in the second half. Back-to-back three-pointers from Lilly Jr. and Wojcik helped Bruno extend its lead to 14 points. The Bears took a 15-point edge later in the half after Lilly Jr. hit two free throws with five minutes left in the game.
The River Hawks stormed back to cut the deficit to 65-61 with 1:18 remaining, but eight Brown free throws down the stretch, including six by Choh, sealed the victory for the Bears.
Brown 79, Sacred Heart 66
The Bears returned to Providence Sunday and continued their winning ways with a dominant performance against Sacred Heart. Wojcik led the way with a team high of 17 points on 7/11 shooting. Wojcik said he has been feeling confident in his role on the Brown offense and is especially pleased with how well the Bears are playing off each other. “I appreciate playing out there with a great group of guys who are able to play together and selflessly,” Wojcik said. “One night it might be someone who’s scoring a lot and is hot, and the next night someone else because of that selfless mentality.”
Kimo Ferrari ’24 had eight points and a team-high five assists off the bench. Choh contributed 11 points and six rebounds, and Lilly Jr. had nine points and four assists. Forward Nana Owusu-Anane ’25 had 12 points and six rebounds, while going 6/7 from the floor. “My teammates were working well with me in the post both high and low,” Owusu-Anane said. “We were sharing a lot today, and when the ball finds me and I try to make the right play, whether that’s scoring or kicking it back out.”
Brown got off to another slow start against Sacred Heart, allowing the Northeast Conference’s top scorer, Tyler Thomas, to give the Pioneers the lead off a pair of free throws and back-to-back threes. But Brown regrouped to take a 22-15 lead with eight minutes left in the first. Threes by Wojcik and Ferrari closed out the scoring in the first half and gave the Bears the 43-33 advantage heading into the break.
To start the second half, Gainey led the way with the first six points. The Pioneers cut Brown’s lead to 52-43, but that was the closest the Pioneers could get to cutting the deficit. The Pioneers were unable to break through the Bears’ defense, especially that of Ferrari. The Bears outscored the Pioneers by 31 while Ferrari was on the court.
“Our team is balanced with depth, and you saw that today,” Head Coach Mike Martin ’04 said. “Kimo coming off the bench gave us a huge lift after a slow start.”
Ferrari gave the Bears momentum from the defensive end the entire game, including drawing an offensive foul at the 10:24 mark of the second half that forced Sacred Heart to burn a timeout down 66-51.
To secure the win, Choh scored with four minutes left in the game to extend Brown’s lead to a game-high of 19 points. Though Sacred Heart added a few late points to cut the deficit to 13, Brown finished on top by a 79-63 score.
Brown’s second half performance was its best offensive display of the season, according to Martin. “We played with great confidence, and this was probably the best offense inside and out that we’ve had all year,” Martin said. “We were sharing the ball and working off paint-touch kick outs that created high percentage shot opportunities.”
The Bears will hit the road Tuesday to face Merrimack College (4-5) in North Andover, Massachusetts, with tip-off at 7 p.m.
