BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Trailing by 13 points at the half, the Wentworth men's basketball team held Muhlenberg to 26.9 percent shooting from the floor and scored 13 of its 35 second-half points off turnovers as the Leopards rallied to defeat the Mules, 54-50, in the consolation game of the 33rd Annual Greyhound Starters Classic, played at Moravian College.
The Mules, who dropped a three-point decision to Manhattanville Sunday night, used back-to-back three pointes from junior guard Justin Greenstone (Ridgewood, N.J.) and sophomore guard Rob Berish (Mendham, N.J.) to turn a four-point lead into a 10-point cushion with 8:49 remaining in the first half. Wentworth scored the next four points, thanks to a basket by senior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) and a pair of free throws from junior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.), and trailed, 20-14, with 6:16 remaining.
Muhlenberg scored the next eight points of the half, with four coming from junior forward Spencer Liddic (Clarks Summit, Pa.), and took a 28-14 lead with 2:24 left in the first half. The Mules led by as many as 16 with 36 seconds left before a Dombrowski trifecta with 14 ticks left closed out the half with Muhlenberg leading, 32-19.
Wentworth opened the second half on an 11-2 run, keyed by a pair of Dombrowski three pointers, and trailed by four with 16:12 left. The Mules increased their lead to eight when sophomore guard Matt O'Hara (Berwyn, Pa.) drained a three pointer with 13:13 left to play. Four straight points by senior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) and back-to-back trifectas from freshman forward Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) junior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) capped off a 10-0 run and gave the Leopards their first lead of the game, 42-40, with 10:33 left in the contest.
Freshman forward James Albano (Ridgewood, N.J.) hit a layup on the Mules' next possession to tie the game at 42, but a sophomore forward Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) basket with 9:36 left gave Wentworth a lead it wouldn't relinquish, at 44-42.
The Mules pulled within one on two separate occasions, including on a three pointer from freshman guard Austin Curry (Jamison, Pa.) with just under four minutes left, but baskets from Herrick and Burke-Pitts wushed the lead to five, and, after Liddic cut the lead to three with 14 ticks left, Burke-Pitts sealed the win by hitting one of two free throws.
Dombrowski, who was named to the all-tournament team, had 15 points, three assists, and three steals to pace the Leopards. Burke-Pitts connected on 5-of-7 shots from the floor to score 11 points, while recording three steals. Herrick finished with eight points, nine rebounds, and three blocks, while Therriault added seven points, six rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals. Wentworth had a season-high 14 steals and for the third time in its last four games, held an opponent to 50 or fewer points.
Liddic led the Mules with 15 points to go along with nine rebounds while Curry (eight points) and Berish (seven points, five rebounds, and four assists) also paced Muhlenberg.
With the win, Wentworth improves to 4-6 and hosts Newbury on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Muhlenberg, which dropped its fourth straight to see its record even at 5-5, is at DeSales on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
