Men's Basketball Falls to Rowan, 69-63

CHESTER, Pa. – Sophomore guard Kendall White (Lumberton, N.J.) scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while junior guard Roger Loatman (Bridgeton, N.J.) added 14 points and eight rebounds to help Rowan erase an 11-point second half deficit and defeat Wentworth, 69-63, in the opening round of the 2010 Widener Tip-Off Tournament.

After the first 1:41 yielded no points, Wentworth took a 3-0 lead on a junior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) three pointer.  The Leopards would lead by as many as 10 on a pair of Prue free throws with 9:15 remaining before the Profs used a 10-0 run over the next 1:43 to tie the game at 19-all.  White had five points during the run, including a three-point play that cut the lead from five to two.

With the score tied at 25-all and just under 4:00 left, Wentworth outscored Rowan, 8-3, to close out the half, keyed by three points from junior guard Matt Harte (Troy, N.Y.) and a three pointer from freshman guard James Towner (Carlsbad, Calif.).  The Leopards, who held the Profs to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, led, 33-28, at the break.

Sophomore forward Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) drained a three to open the second half, which would start an 8-2 run and would lead to an eventual 41-30 lead with 17:22 remaining.  However, Rowan went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 41-40 after a pair of White free throws.  Therriault hit a jumper to push the lead back to three, but a basket by White cut the lead to one and a layup by senior guard Sean Hughes (Point Pleasant, N.J.) gave the Profs their first lead of the night, 44-43, with 9:21 remaining.

Trailing by three (46-43) with 8:11 to play, senior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) converted a three-point play to even the game at 46-all with 7:52 remaining.  However, four straight Rowan points gave the Profs a lead they would not relinquish.

Despite trailing by as much as seven with just over three minutes left, the Leopards would not go down quietly, cutting the lead to two with 12 seconds left on a freshman guard Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) layup.  Mayo was fouled on the basket, but unable to complete the three-point play.  On the next possession, White missed both free throws, which kept it a two-point game, but an offensive rebound by senior guard Laud Anderson (North Brunswick, N.J.) gave the Profs the ball back.  Anderson, who was fouled, hit both of the free throws, sealing the win for Rowan.

Junior forward Steve Secula (Mullica Hill, N.J.) had 10 points for the Profs, while freshman guard Jason Rosenberg (Wayne, N.J.) had six assists and five steals.  Rowan held a 48-34 advantage on the glass.

Herrick led all scorers with 16 points to go along with a game-high 16 rebounds and two blocks.  Mayo added 14 points and five assists, while Therriault chipped in with 10 points.

With the win the Profs improve to 2-0 and will play host Widener (1-1) in the championship game.  Wentworth falls to 0-3 and plays Adrian in the consolation game.  Widener defeated Adrian, 62-47, in the tournament's first game.