BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) scored 12 of his game-high 16 points in the first half to help the Wentworth men's basketball team to a 56-49 win over the University of New England in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference contest played at Tansey Gymnasium.
The Leopards, who won their third straight game, jumped out to an early, 11-2 lead with nine of the 11 points coming by way of the long ball. Therriault drained two trifectas, while junior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) added one of his own. The only points not coming from behind the arc came from senior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.).
UNE whittled the lead down to one on a freshman guard Charles Fenner (Bronx, N.Y.) with 10:53 left in the half before Wentworth junior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) converted on a layup to make it a 15-12 game. However, with 8:35 left in the half, junior forward Jordan Stinglen (South Berwick, Maine) drained a three to tie the game at 15-all.
Wentworth outscored the Nor'Easters, 15-1, over the final 8:35, capped off by a Therriault trifecta at the buzzer to give the hosts a 30-16 lead at the break. The Leopards shot 52.4 percent from the floor over the first 20:00, including going 5-for-8 from behind the arc.
The Leopards took their largest lead of the game, 39-20, when Dombrowski hit a three from the corner with 16:10 left in the contest. However, UNE would not go quietly, using an 11-1 run to cut the lead to nine (40-31) with 10:22 left. Wentworth built the lead back to as many as 14 before the Nor'Easters a 12-4 run to cut the lead to six (51-45) with 1:23 to play. That would be as close as the visitors would come as the Leopards hits five of six free throws down the stretch and capitalized on a pair of UNE turnovers.
Therriault was 4-for-8 from behind the arc and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, while Dombrowski added nine points. Senior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) chipped in with eight points, five assists, and a pair of steals to help the Leopards and Herrick had eight caroms.
The Nor'Easters were paced by Stinglen, who had 13 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while Fenner added 11 points. Wentworth held a 32-23 advantage on the glass.
With the win Wentworth improves to 11-8 (6-2 TCCC) and hosts Anna Maria on Saturday. UNE falls to 3-17 (1-7) and hosts Roger Williams, also on Saturday.
