QUINCY, Mass. – Freshman forward Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) connected on 7-of-9 shots from the floor, en route to a career-high 17 points as the Wentworth men's basketball team won its fourth straight game as the Leopards downed Eastern Nazarene, 80-59.
The visiting Leopards took an early, 12-4 lead as Mayo scored seven points and senior forward Sam Herrick adding four. Leading 15-8 with 12:03 left in the half, Wentworth allowed the Lions to go on a 9-0 run, thanks in part to sophomore Aaron Johnson's (Boston, Mass.) four points, and took a 17-15 lead on a basket from junior forward C.J. Gonzales (Fall River, Mass.) with 9:21 left.
Eastern Nazarene's lead would not last for long, however, as Mayo answered with a three pointer to give Wentworth an 18-17 lead. Sophomore forward Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) scored the next five points, singlehandedly increasing the Leopard lead to six with 7:03 left. The Leopards upped their lead to 10 at the break after shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and holding Eastern Nazarene to 35.7 percent.
Leading 43-33 with 14:36 left in the contest, Wentworth broke the game open was an 8-0 run, capped off by a Therriault three pointer. The Leopards, who led by as many as 26 late in the game, shot 69.2 percent from the floor over the final 20:00 and shot a season-best 61.2 percent from the floor for the game.
Herrick was 6-for-9 from the floor, scoring 14 points and recording his second straight double-double as he pulled down 10 rebounds. Junior forward Matt Harte (Troy, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 points, while senior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) had nine points and five assists.
The Lions were led by junior guard DeAngelo Alston (West Columbia, S.C.), who had 14 points, while Johnson had 11 points, three assists, and three steals.
With the win Wentworth improves to 7-6 overall and 2-0 in TCCC play. The Leopards host Eastern Connecticut in a non-league game Thursday night. Eastern Nazarene falls to 5-8 (1-1) and is at Gordon on Saturday.
