The Pride, which improves to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the NEWMAC, also received a game-high 16 points from junior guard Derek Yvon (East Longmeadow, Mass.).
For the Bears (6-4, 0-2 NEWMAC) freshman forward Jeff Prebeck (Columbus, Ind.) scored 12 points and had 10 boards, and sophomore center Kevin Edes (Bedford, N.H.) added 11 points and five boards off the bench.
Trailing by three (9-6) with 15:02 left in the first half, the Pride took control with a 16-3 run over the next 13:17 and led 22-12 with 1:45 left in the half. The Bears registered the final five points to make it 22-17 at intermission. DeCesar led all scorers with six first-half points.
In the second half, the Pride extended its lead to 34-24 on a lay-up by junior forward Joel Aponte (Windsor, Conn.) with 15:49 to play. The Bears, however, slowly whittled away at SC’s lead and took a 46-45 lead with 4:42 left on a pair of free throws by Edes. SC sophomore guard Anthony Pizzo (Clifton Park, N.Y.) answered with two free throws, then hit Yvon with a pass off an inbounds play for an easy lay-up to give SC a 51-47 edge with 1:42 left. Prebeck’s basket with :58 left closed the gap to 51-49, but Yvon responded with a lay-up with :31 to play to reestablish SC’s four-point lead (53-49).