Box Score
Game Information:

• Score: Eastern Connecticut State University 93, Johnson & Wales University 58
• Records: Eastern Connecticut (2-0), Johnson & Wales (0-3)
• Location: Willimantic, CT (Geissler Gymnasium) 

First Half:
The Wildcats held strong with the Warriors throughout the first 16 minutes of the game, led by Azariah Harrison and efficient shooting by Dylan Hooter. Seven consecutive points from first-year junior transfer Ray Carter (Springfield, MA) gave the Warriors a 37-29 lead late in the half. After his four-point play, the Warriors traded buckets with the Wildcats and junior Drew Soltis (Bridgeport) hit 4 free throws to close out the half.

Second Half:
Continuing his run from the first half, Soltis hit another couple of shots to continue his solo 8-0 run. In a dominant second half, senior Julian Sanchez (Willimantic) took over for the Warriors, scoring 16 points on 6-7 shooting, including 3-3 from beyond the arc. Senior point guard Michael Carothers (Queens, NY) and senior Javontae Jones (Lumberton, NJ) each added 4 assists in the half, including 5 rebounds from Jones. Soltis pulled in 8 rebounds to give himself 11 on the day, paired with a game-high 23 points. Apart from his double-double with 8-11 shooting and a 7-7 performance from the line, Soltis also led all players with 3 steals and had a block. With a strong lead late in the second half, the Warriors were able to give collegiate debuts to 6-foot-9 inch first-year sophomore Cory O'Hehir (Tampa, FL) and first-year player SaVahn Warren (Stamford) and season debuts to sophomores Eli Limric (Glastonbury) and  JJ Hay (Columbia). O'Hehir hit both of his free throws and grabbed a rebound in six minutes and Warren was 2-for-2 from the foul line in two minutes

Stats:

• Eastern Connecticut wins its 13th consecutive non-conference game over a stretch of three years, nine coming last year
• The Warriors went 32-67 from the field, shooting 47.8%, while the Wildcats went 24-57, shooting 42.1%
• Free throw shooting played a major role for the Warriors, going 21-22 from the line, while the Wildcats were 4-6. Eastern, now shooting 81.0 percent from the stripe,  connected on its first 16 attempts through the game's first 27 minutes
• The Warriors bench scored 42 points to Johnson & Wales' 14. In the second half, the Warriors bench outscored the Wildcats bench 32-3
• Points in the paint were another strong area for the Warriors, who outscored the Wildcats 42-18
• Azariah Harrison (18) and Alvin Baez (13) were the only two Wildcats in double digits for points
• Soltis (23),  Sanchez (22), senior Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford) (14), and Carter (12) were double digit point scorers
• Carothers had 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. As a team, Eastern had 13 steals
• No player had more than 3 fouls in today's contest. Johnson & Wales had 15 and Eastern Connecticut had 10 in total. The Wildcats never got into the bonus in the first half as Eastern outscored them by 14 points from the stripe.
• In two games, Eastern is averaging 92.5 points and shooting 48 percent from the floor and outrebounding its opponent by over 20 per game. After committing 21 turnovers in Saturday's 92-79 win at SUNY New Paltz, Eastern turned the ball over only 11 times

Up Next:
The Warriors host Mitchell College (0-2) Saturday at 1 p.m. at Geissler Gym.