DANBURY, Conn. – For as good as Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball has been this year, it still had something to prove heading into Friday's matchup with in-state rival Western Connecticut State University.

This would be Eastern's first of four games on the road in their next five games, a true test for the team to flip the script having gone 5-16 on the road since the 2019-20 season and 1-3 on the road so far this year.

Since posting a thrilling 61-60 LEC win Castleton University in their last outing six days ago, the Warriors (10-4, 5-1 LEC) utilized career days from junior transfer guard Meikyle Murray (Bronx, NY) and junior guard Jalen Williams (Simsbury), to take down WestConn (7-6, 1-4 LEC), 87-80, at Feldman Arena.

The six-day layoff for Eastern allowed it to get back starting sophomore guard Max Lee (Norwich) and junior forward Quinton Lott (Bridgeport) and Murray off the bench, all of whom missed the win over Castleton in a game where the starters were forced to play all but 20 minutes and scored all of the team's point.

Williams scored a career-high 25 points (18 in the second half), and Woods 18, Murray (17) and Lott (10) combined for 27 points off the bench on 10-of-17 shooting and Lee had

game-high totals of 12 assists and eight rebounds as the Warriors moved a half-game ahead of Keene State College in the conference standings with their fourth straight win. After defeating WestConn 16 consecutive times, the Warriors had dropped three of their last four to WestConn, which won its first LEC tournament title in 15 years in 2019-20. WestConn has lost five of its last six since a five-game winning streak gave it a 6-1 start to the season.

Led by Woods (6-of-10) and Williams (5-of-12) Eastern shot 50 percent from three-point range, going 17-of-34 and finishing one three-point field goal shy of tying the program record of 18, set in 2017 against WestConn. Senior guard Thomas Close (East Hampton) was 4-of-8 from distance and was the team's fifth double-figure scorer with 12 points.

It was a game of runs for the Little East Conference rivals after the Warriors took an early 2-0 lead off a basket from junior forward Rakesh Tibby (East Hartford) who made his second straight start of the season. WestConn capitalized off of two Eastern turnovers and rattle off five straight points after missing their first three shots behind a three from junior forward Jahiem Young and layup by first-year guard Keeshawn Jones to pull ahead, 5-2.

The Warriors responded with a quick 6-0 run behind a pair of threes from Close and Williams to take a three-point advantage in the early going. First-year guard Corey Walters and junior guard Ahmod Privott answered back yet again for WestConn, leading their team on another 5-0 run to pull ahead 10-8 just over 4 ½ minutes into the contest.

Eastern fell behind by two after Walters scored four straight points for WestConn before senior guard Woods – who scored 11 points in nine minutes in the second half against Castleton -- caught fire from long range. Trailing 11-9, Woods erupted with six consecutive threes after missing his first three-point attempt and  Murray added another one off the bench as Eastern went on a defining 21-2 run to open a 16-point lead, 30-14, with nine minutes left in the first half.

WestConn turned to its relentless half-court pressure in an effort to claw back to within striking distance, a strategy that would pay dividends in the closing minutes of the half. Trailing by 15 with 4:03 remaining, WestConn used a 14-3 run behind back-to-back threes from Privott and four points from junior forward Ryan Alkins to close the gap down to four, 40-36, heading into the locker room. During that stretch, the Warriors went 1-for-4 from the field and missed two of their final three free throw attempts en route to a 2-for-6 performance from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes.

Woods led the way for Eastern in the first half on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 shooting from three after his hot streak in the middle of the first half. In his return to the starting lineup, Lee recorded six assists and six rebounds in 18 first half minutes while Murray's 16 minutes off the bench resulted in nine points to already surpass his career high in a game on 4-for-7 shooting. As a team, the Warriors went 10-for-18 from three (55.6 percent) in the first half and just 4-for-15 (26.6 percent) from inside the arc.
 

While seven different WestConn players recorded points in the first half, it was its defense that kept it from falling out of reach. Six different WestConn players recorded a block en route to seven first half blocks and eight Eastern turnovers led to eight points on the other end for WestConn.

Needing a response to the strong first half finish by WestConn, Close kicked off the second half with back-to-back threes and Lee added a free throw as the Warriors went up by 11 early on in expanding a four-point halftime lead. Close had nine of Eastern's first 12 points of the half, knocking down a trio of threes after being held to three first half points.

But similar to the first half, WestConn responded to the hot start by the Warriors again. Down by 13 with 13:13 remaining, WestConn used a 13-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the game at 58 behind five points from Alkins off the bench. After Eastern regained their composure with Rakesh Tibby's first points since the opening basket of the game and a three from Williams to go ahead, 63-58, Alkins answered with three more points of his own to pull WestConn back within two with nine minutes left in regulation.

Over the final four minutes, WestConn  cut the Warrior lead down to one on four different occasions, but each time Eastern answered back as a pair of layups from Lott, a three from Murray, and a jumper by Williams helped them maintain its slim lead. With 2:46 left, the second Lott layup spurred an 8-0 run for the Warriors as a Murray layup, a three-pointer and free throw from Williams put the game out of reach as Eastern won its second road game in five tries this season.
 
After scoring only four points in the first half, Alkins recorded 16 in the second and paced three WestConn double-digit scorers with 20 points in only 15 minutes off the bench on 8-of-9 shooting. Close behind him was Privott (16) on 6-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long range and seven rebounds. Eight WestConn players combined for 11 blocks.

The Warriors return to Geissler Gymnasium Monday at 5 p.m. for a Martin Luther King Day matchup against a formidable Little East Conference opponent in Rhode Island College (10-2, 3-1 LEC) in a makeup game from January 5. This will be the Anchormen's first game in nearly a month since they took down UMass Boston Dec. 18. In its last matchup in 2019-20 season, Eastern snapped a three-game losing streak against Rhode Island College with a 72-68 home victory. Before that skid, the Warriors had won nine of their last ten games against the Anchormen dating back to 2014-15.

The Warriors have won seven straight at home and are 8-1 overall at Geissler Gym while the Anchormen are 4-1 away from the Murray Center.

Per the revised spectator policy, all fans attending indoor events on Eastern Connecticut State University's campus must provide proof of vaccination if they are 12 years of age and over along with a photo ID. Spectators under the age of 12 may attend at their guardian's discretion. Masks are mandatory at all times.