BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Dailon Wilson's (Houston, Texas) basket with 1:13 left in overtime gave the Wentworth men's basketball team the lead for good as the Leopards defeated Endicott, 70-66, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Thursday night.
Senior Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) became the 13th player in Leopard men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark in the win as he reached the milestone with a basket with 8:56 left in the first half.
Wentworth took a 5-2 lead within the game's first 2:50 on a layup from junior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine). However, the Gulls responded by using a 14-4 run and led, 16-9, on a senior Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) layup with 11:50 left in the half.
Endicott extended its lead to as many as eight (19-11) on a sophomore John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) three-point play with 10:50 to play before Wentworth answered with a 10-1 run, capped off by a sophomore John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) layup with 7:22 left. The lead changed hands five times before a Fragnoli free throw with 3:55 left knotted the game at 26-all and Wentworth would lead, 31-28, at the break.
Mayo opened the second half with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to six and, after the Gulls cut it to four on two occasions, hit a layup to make it 38-32 game with 17:09 left. That basket started a 10-2 run and saw the hosts take their largest lead of the night (46-34) on a senior Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) layup with 14:50 remaining. During the run Johnson had eight of the 10 points.
The Leopards held a 53-44 lead with just over eight minutes left before a 3-pointer from Henault and a jumper from sophomore Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) trimmed the lead to five. Wentworth built the lead back up to seven on a three-point play from sophomore Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) with 2:23 left.
Greene scored the next four points to cut the lead to three before Donato answered with a basket of his own to push the lead back to five with 1:22 left. Henault made it a 60-57 game with 1:05 left, and, after Wilson missed two free throws with 27 seconds left, hit a 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left to tie the game. Mayo had a chance to put the Leopards ahead, but rimmed out a shot just before regulation ended.
Johnson and Makris traded baskets in the early part of overtime and Mayo hit one of two free throws to give the Leopards a 63-62 lead with 3:55 left. Greene gave the Gulls a 64-63 lead before the lead changed again on a basket from Johnson.
Endicott took a 66-65 lead on a basket from sophomore Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) with 1:51 left before Wilson's putback with 1:13 left gave Wentworth a 67-66 lead. On the ensuing possession the Gulls had a pair of chances, but could not re-gain the lead. Therriault hit one of two free throws with 26 second left to make it a two-point game, and, after a missed shot by Henault, Donato sealed the win with a basket off a long pass from Therriault.
Four players scored in double digits for the Leopards as Donato, Mayo, and Johnson each had 15 and Fragnoli added 11. Donato was 7-for-10 from the floor and had seven rebounds. Therriault, who now has 1,004 career points, finished with six points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, while Wilson had seven rebounds and three assists to go along with four points.
Henault led the Gulls with 24 points, coming on 10-for-16 shooting. Greene added 18 points, five rebounds, and four steals, and Makris finished with 13 points.
With the win Wentworth improves to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in league play. The Leopards are at Roger Williams Saturday. Endicott dropped its second straight, falling to 7-5 (2-3). The Gulls are at Curry on Saturday.
