BOSTON, Mass. – Junior forward Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) scored 21 points to help the Wentworth men's basketball team to its first 4-0 start in program history as the Leopards held on to defeat the University of New England, 58-54, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both teams.
The Leopards outscored the Nor'Easters by a 15-2 margin over an eight-minute span to take a 15-point (19-4) lead with 9:47 left in the first half as senior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) had back-to-back baskets and senior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) drilled a three pointer as a part of a 9-0 run.
A 13-0 UNE run, fueled in part by nine points from senior guard Brian Jones (Austin, Texas) cut the Leopard lead to a pair with 5:53 remaining. However, Therriault scored Wentworth's next seven points in a 7-1 run to up the lead to 26-18. The Nor'Easters closed out the half on an 8-2 run and trailed, 28-26, at the break.
Wentworth opened the second half on a 12-0 run and took a 40-26 lead on a Prue thee pointer with 15:40 left. The Leopards extended their lead to 49-32 with 11:00 left in the second half.
An 8-0 run, keyed by back-to-back baskets from senior guard Jarryd Rossignol (Caribou, Maine) cut the Leopard lead to nine with just under 9:00 left. Therriault answered with a three to put Wentworth ahead by double digits but the Nor'Easters outscored the hosts 13-2 over the next five and a half minutes and trailed by one (54-53) with 2:32 left.
UNE had a chance to take the lead with 1:16 left, but missed a three pointer, and, after a missed free throw, had the ball with 50.7 seconds left. A turnover with 33 seconds left gave the hosts the ball and Prue sank a pair of free throws to up the lead to three.
Freshman guard Timmy Mains hit one of two free throws with 20 seconds left to make it a two-point game and the Nor'Easters got the offensive rebound off the missed free throw. Looking to take the lead, UNE attempted a three with nine seconds left, but the shot was off the mark. Therriault grabbed the rebound and was fouled with five seconds left. After missing the attempt, he picked up the rebound after a scrum and buried a jumper as time expired.
In addition to his 21 points – coming on 9-for-16 shooting – Therriault had five rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Dombrowski added nine points, four assists, and five steals, while Prue chipped in with eight points and three assists.
Freshman guard Jordan Ferreira (Nantucket, Mass.) led UNE with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and six steals. Senior guard (Austin, Texas) and Jones added 12 and nine points, respectively.
Wentworth, 4-0 overall and 1-0 in CCC play, is at Eastern Nazarene on Saturday. The Nor'Easters fall to 0-5 (0-1) and host Salve Regina, also on Saturday.
