BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds to pace five double-figure scorers as the Wentworth men's basketball team clinched the number two seed for the upcoming The Commonwealth Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament with a 74-60 win over Colby-Sawyer.
After the Chargers opened the game with a basket from junior forward James Tobin (Brookline, N.H.) 21 seconds into the tilt, the Leopards answered with a three pointer from Therriault on the ensuing possession and took the lead for good. Therriault's basket began a 14-2 run that would eventually give the hosts a 14-4 lead with 14:24 left in the half.
Colby-Sawyer cut the lead to as few as four on three occasions, including on a freshman forward Robbie Burke (Cheshire, Mass.) bucket with 1:03 left in the half. However, a baseline jumper by junior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) with 1.4 seconds left in the half gave the hosts a 35-29 lead at the break. The Leopards would hold the Chargers to 34.4 percent shooting over the first 20:00.
A basket to open the second half and a steal and layup by freshman forward Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) extended Wentworth's lead to 10 in the first 1:12 of the second stanza. Burke answered with a jumper in the paint to cut the lead to eight, but senior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) scored on the Leopards' next possession to put the lead back to double figures.
Herrick extended the lead to a dozen on two occasions before the Chargers scored four straight points and trailed, 45-37, with 12:57 left. However, five consecutive points by junior forward Matt Harte extended the lead to 13 (50-37) and the lead would remain in double figures for the remainder of the contest.
In addition to Therriault, Herrick had 14 points, 15 rebounds, and a pair of blocks and in the process tied the school's single-season rebounding record with 256. Junior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) and Dombrowski added 11 apiece, while Mayo finished with 10 points, nine assists, five rebounds, and five steals. The Leopards scored 24 points off of 20 Charger turnovers.
Burke led Colby-Sawyer with 17 points, while Tobin, freshman forward John Roberts (Casco, Maine) and senior forward Brandon Carbone (Portland, Maine) each scored eight points. Tobin and Roberts grabbed seven rebounds apiece, while sophomore guard Corey Willis (Easton, Mass.) had nine assists.
With the win, Wentworth's fourth straight, the Leopards improve to 15-9 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The Leopards close out the regular season on Saturday at New England College. Colby-Sawyer falls to 11-12 (7-5) and wraps up the regular season at Western New England, also on Saturday.
