BOSTON, Mass. – Junior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) went 9-for-15 from the floor, en route to a game-high 20 points, while senior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) chipped in with 18 points on 9-for-14 shooting as the Wentworth men's basketball team won its second straight game with a 69-55 triumph over Eastern Connecticut.
The Leopards came out of the gates firing, taking an early, 9-0 lead, which included four points from Dombrowski. After the hosts increased the lead to as any as 12, the Warriors would trim the lead to eight on a junior guard Nick Nedwick (Irvington, N.Y.) basket with 13:42 to play. Neither team would score for the next three minutes, but Leopard freshman forward Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) broke the drought with he drained a three with 10:47 left to increase the lead to double digits.
Nedwick created a turnover and got the subsequent fast break layup with 6:14 remaining to cut the margin to 24-15. However, back-to-back baskets from Mayo and Dombrowski pushed the lead to 13 with just under five minutes left in the half.
A Dombrowski jumper with 1:19 left gave Wentworth its largest lead of the half at 33-19 and the Leopards, who connected on 15-of-31 shots over the first 20:00, led 35-24 at the break.
The Warriors trimmed the lead to as few as nine on two occasions in the second half, including on a senior forward Bill Roveto (South Windsor, Conn.) putback with 16:50 left in the contest. That would be as close as Eastern Connecticut would come as an 8-2 Wentworth run – capped off by a Dombrowski trifecta – gave the Leopards a 45-30 lead with 13:37 left. Wentworth would lead by as many as 19 twice, including after Dombrowski scored his final points of the contest with 3:56 left.
In addition to his 20 points, Dombrowski had six rebounds and four steals, while Herrick hauled down nine rebounds. Senior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) had 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists in the win.
Nedwick led the Warriors with 13 points and three assists, while sophomore guard Joe Ives (Avon, Conn.) added seven points and three steals. Eastern Connecticut was held to 37.9 percent shooting from the floor in the second half after shooting 50 percent (9-for-18) in the first half. Wentworth held a 38-29 advantage on the glass and scored 28 points off of 19 Warrior turnovers.
With the win the Leopards improve to 13-9 and resume The Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Saturday at Curry. Eastern Connecticut sees its two-game win streak snapped, falling to 15-7. The Warriors are at UMass Dartmouth in Little East play on Saturday.
