BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Derek Mayo's (Casco, Maine) 3-pointer with 5.5 seconds remaining lifted the Wentworth men's basketball team to its second straight win, a 60-59 triumph over Gordon in a Commonwealth Coast Conference game played at Tansey Gymnasium. The Leopards rallied from an eight-point deficit at the half and with 3:12 left to claim the victory.
Mayo's heroics came after the Fighting Scots had taken a two-point lead on a pair of sophomore guard Park Thomas (Scotsdale, Ariz.) free throws with 20 seconds left.
Thomas, who hit the first five shots he took, helped the Fighting Scots build a 15-9 lead with 13:33 remaining in the first half by scoring nine points – all by way of the long ball. The Leopards battled back and eventually tied the game at 22-all on a senior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) basket with 7:50 to play.
A layup by Thomas with 6:24 left in the half give the visitors a 27-24 lead, and, after a 2:23 scoring drought by both teams, sophomore guard Luke Hamilton (Mount Airy, N.C.) hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 10. Gordon's lead would swell to as many as 10 with 31 seconds left, but a freshman guard Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) layup at the buzzer made it a 37-29 game. Both teams shot well over the first half, with the Fighting Scots connect on 60 percent of their shots, while the Leopards shot 54.2 percent from the floor.
Trailing40-32 with 17:47 left, Wentworth used a 9-0 run and took a 41-40 lead on a pair of sophomore forward Davon Daniels (Paterson, N.J.) free throws with 12:23 to play. Gordon countered with an 8-2 spurt and took a 48-43 lead on a sophomore guard Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) basket with 7:14 remaining in the contest. The Fighting Scots pushed the lead to eight (57-49) with 3:12 left on a Hamilton basket.
Junior guard Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) began the Leopard comeback by hitting one of two free throws, and, off a turnover, buried a 3-pointer. After a Leopard miss and Gordon turnover, Mayo cut the lead to two (57-55) with 1:23 left.
A foul with 1:09 left resulted in Gordon missing the front end of a one-and-one, however the Leopards were unable to convert as they turned the ball over on a second-chance attempt. Prue came up with a steal with 34 seconds left to give the Black & Gold the ball and junior guard Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) would hit two free throws with 32.8 ticks left to even the score at 57-all.
The Fighting Scots got the ball over half court and called time out with 21.3 seconds left. A foul on a steal attempt put Thomas at the line, where he put Gordon ahead by a pair.
The Leopards worked the ball into the frontcourt and Mayo's go-ahead basket came on an open look from 23 feet out, off a pass from Therriualt. Gordon had a chance to win it, but a 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer.
Mayo and Johnson each scored 11 points, with Mayo adding four rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Donato recorded nine points and four steals, while senior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) had eight points, seven rebounds, and two steals.
Gordon, which was held to 38.9 percent from the floor in the second half, had four players in double figures, as Thomas led the way with 17 points (on 6-for-9 shooting). Carnes scored 14 points, freshman forward Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) had 10 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks, and two steals, while junior forward David Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) also scored 10 in defeat.
With the win the Leopards improve to 9-5 (5-3 CCC) and travel to Curry Saturday. Gordon, which dropped its third straight, falls to 6-9 (5-3) and hosts Nichols Saturday.
