NEW LONDON, Conn.  -  The Coast Guard Academy men's basketball team shot 12-26 (46.2%) on three-pointers in tonight's 85-76 win against NEWMAC rivals Springfield College. The 12 threes are a season-high, and it's the third time this season the Bears have reached that mark.

Coast Guard gets back to .500 at 7-7 (3-2 NEWMAC), while the Pride drop their third in a row and move to 5-9 (2-3 NEWMAC). Springfield travels to no. 22 WPI (12-2, 4-1 NEWMAC) for their next one this Saturday, January 18th.

The Pride held a 39-36 lead at halftime after shooting an efficient 14-26 (53.8%) from the field. Efficient long-range marksmanship kept the Bears in it, with the hosts shooting 8-19 (42.1%) on threes to mitigate their overall performance of 12-31 (38.7%).

Junior guard Elijah Parent (Bristol, Conn.) led Coast Guard at the break with nine points, all of which came from threes. Senior Ben Yagey (Highlands Ranch) and junior Trevor Parks (Oldsmar, Fla.) assisted in the barrage six each on pairs of threes.

Back-and-forth action highlighted the first ten minutes of the second half before the Bears went on a 13-1 run to make some space. Senior big man Cameron Brown (Ellicott City, Md.) started the run with a smooth lay-up and got some reactions from the crowd just a couple of possessions later after spinning through the paint for another graceful finish at the rim.
 
Springfield would attempt the comeback, but Coast Guard's hard-nosed play down the stretch alongside clutch free throw shooting by multiple players sealed the win. The Bears went 10-12 (83.3%) from the charity stripe in the final four minutes.

Parent had a game-leading 16 points (5-7 FG, 4-6 3PT, 2-2 FT), tying his career-high for made threes while being one of six Coast Guard players to break double-digits. Senior guard Declan Rooney (Seattle, Wash.), fresh off scoring his 1,000th point on Tuesday, was next with 14 (6-11 FG, 2-3 FT) alongside five rebounds and three steals.

The remaining four Bears who reached double-digits had 12 points each. Yagey (5-8 FG, 2-4 3PT) and Parks (4-8 FG, 4-7 3PT) were among them, with the latter adding five rebounds to his line. Brown (4-7 FG, 4-8 FT) made the cut while pulling down seven rebounds and swatting three shots to maintain his status as the NEWMAC's leader in blocks per game. Finally, freshman guard Colin Huang (Irvine, Calif.) set his career-high by showing some mettle at the line (3-8 FG, 1-1 3PT, 5-7 FT) and playing pesky defense throughout the night.

Springfield saw four in double-digits, led by Zander Robinson's (East Hartford, Conn.) 13 points (6-10 FG, 1-1 FT) off the bench. He was followed by another bench noisemaker in Josh Hartley (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who had 12 points (4-4 FG, 1-1 3PT, 3-4 FT) in as many minutes. Rounding out the group were John Paulino (New Bedford, Mass.) and Curtis Blische (Barkhamsted, Conn.) scoring ten each. The duo nearly recorded a pair of double-doubles, with Paulino (4-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-3 FT) grabbing six rebounds and Blische (4-11 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-3 FT) pulling down seven.

The Bears will be on the road for more NEWMAC action this Saturday to take on Salve Regina. Coast Guard holds a 16-12 all-time record over the Seahawks, including last season's 90-85 win. Rooney and Farrell led the scoring with 21 each, and the offense also benefited from a 17-point performance from Parent.