BOSTON, Mass. – Senior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) scored 13 points – including going 8-for-8 from the free throw line – to pace four double figure scorers as the Wentworth men's basketball team defeated Colby-Sawyer, 67-54, in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference Quarterfinal played at Tansey Gymnasium.
After a pair of free throws from Burke-Pitts trimmed a three-point deficit to one, the Chargers scored the next seven points, including four from freshman guard Eddie Tirabassi (Portland, Maine), to take a seven-point edge with 12:04 left in the opening stanza. The Leopards scored the next seven points in a span of 1:23 to tie the game at 10:41 on a freshman forward Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) layup.
The two teams would battle through two more ties until a Mayo layup on the fast break gave Wentworth a 22-20 lead with 7:48 left and the hosts would hold Colby-Sawyer scoreless over the final 5:35 to take 33-24 lead at the break.
A 5-2 spurt to open the second half gave Wentworth a 38-26 lead on a junior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) three pointer with 17:43 left. Colby-Sawyer whittled the lead down to eight on two occasions, including on a freshman forward John Roberts (Falmouth, Maine) basket with 8:51 left in the contest, but a 12-2 Leopard run, keyed by four points from Burke-Pitts and a three pointer from junior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) gave the hosts their largest lead of the night at 56-38 with 6:10 to play and would never look back.
In addition to scoring 13 points, Burke-Pitts grabbed six rebounds, had four assists, and three steals. Mayo added 12 points, four assists, and three steals, while Dombrowski and sophomore forward Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) had 10 points apiece. Senior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) had a game-high 13 boards in the win. The Leopards scored 24 points off of 22 Charger turnovers on the night.
Junior guard Will Bardaglio (Wayne, Maine) led Colby-Sawyer with 12 points while senior forward Brandon Carbone (Portland, Maine) added 11. Roberts had eight points and eight rebounds for the Chargers.
With the win, Wentworth wins its season-high sixth straight contest and improves to 17-9. The Leopards will host sixth-seeded Endicott (17-9), a 71-68 overtime winner at Roger Williams on Thursday night at 7:00. The two teams met at Wentworth on Jan. 22 with the Gulls prevailing, 75-71. Colby-Sawyer sees its season end with a 12-13 record.
