QUINCY, Mass. – Senior Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) scored a game-high 21 points and junior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) added 18 as the Wentworth men's basketball team held on for a 76-71 win over Eastern Nazarene in Commonwealth Coast Conference action played at the Lahue Physical Education Center.
With the win, the Leopards improve to 11-7 overall and 7-4 in CCC play. The Lions fall to 13-5 (7-4) and both teams are presently tied with Gordon for second place in the conference standings.
Senior Mike McCoy (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) netted a team-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 from long distance for Eastern Nazarene. McCoy also added three rebounds, three assists and a steal on the day. Rookie Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) dished out three assists and finished with 17 points after collecting 15 in the second frame.
Chima Ezeigbo (Roanoke, Va.) and Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) each chipped in with eight points off the bench. Ezeigbo also recorded a side-best five rebounds in the loss. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) drained a pair of treys on the day to finish with six points while also leading the hosts with four helpers.
The visitors scored the game's opening eight points to hold an 8-0 lead after 2:47 had elapsed. Wentworth increased its advantage to 10, 21-11, with 8:50 remaining in the half as Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) sank his only three-pointer of the day.
Wentworth sported a 34-23 edge at the halftime break.
McCoy led all players at intermission with 13 first-half points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. Ezeigbo added four points while Owens, Lynch and Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) all scored two points.
Eastern Nazarene chopped the deficit to six with 7:34 left to play as it used an 8-0 run to pull the score to 55-49.
The Lions trimmed Wentworth's lead to three points with 4:26 on the clock, 59-56, as McCoy nailed a trey. Owens followed with a pair of free throws to slice the gap to just one, 59-58.
The Leopards responded with a three-pointer by Dailon Wilson (Houston, Texas) from the left corner to extend their lead to four, 62-58, with 3:17 left to play.
McCoy found Lynch under the hoop for a reverse lay-up on the home team's ensuing possession to draw to within two, 62-60, with 2:42 on the clock.
Wentworth tacked on four-consecutive points to hold a six-point edge with 1:37 remaining.
Owens drained a trey with 1:20 left on the clock to narrow the margin to 66-63. The rookie sank a jumper with under minute remaining after the Leopards connected on a lay-in to draw the Lions to within three, 68-65.
Following a three-pointer by Justin Wagner from the corner with 27 seconds on the clock, Wentworth converted a pair of free throws to widen the lead to five, 73-68. Owens responded with a lay-in to cut the deficit to three, 73-70, with 13 ticks left to play.
The Leopards sank three free throws in the final 12 seconds to secure the win.
Eastern Nazarene connected on 65.4% of its field goal attempts in the second half to conclude the contest with a field-goal percentage of 55.1%. The Lions also sank 42.9% of their shots from behind the arc.
Wentworth finished the game with a field-goal percentage of 52.8%, including 6-of-11 from three-point distance.
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday night as Wentworth is at Endicott and Eastern Nazarene hosts Nichols.
(Recap Courtesy of Eastern Nazarene Sports Information)
WENTWORTH 76, EASTERN NAZARENE 71
WENTWORTH (11-7, 7-4 CCC)
Colin Johnson 7-9 3-3 21; Derek Mayo 6-14 6-8 18; Nico Donato 3-5 0-0 7; John-Michael Fragnoli 3-7 0-2 6; Scott Moran 2-2 2-2 6; Dailon Wilson 2-5 0-0 5; Matt Harte 2-2 1-3 5; Ray Bessette 2-4 0-0 4; Cam Sennick 0-1 2-2 2; Corey Therriault 1-4 0-0 2; Ian Therriault 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 14-20 76.
EASTERN NAZARENE (13-5, 7-4 CCC)
Mike McCoy 8-12 1-1 20; Jaylen Owens 6-12 3-4 17; Chima Ezeigbo 3-3 2-2 8; Eric Lynch 4-7 0-0 8; Justin Wagner 2-5 0-0 6; Max Barbosa 1-3 2-4 5; Jeremy Wagner 1-2 0-0 3; Brian Hard 1-3 0-0 2; Alex Jarman 1-2 0-1 2; Jake Cramer 0-0 0-0 0; John Cramer 0-0 0-0 0; Aaron Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-49 8-12 71.
Wentworth..................... 34 42 - 76
Eastern Nazarene.............. 23 48 - 71
3-point goals--Wentworth 6-11 (Colin Johnson 4-5; Nico Donato 1-1; Dailon Wilson 1-2; Ray Bessette 0-1; Corey Therriault 0-1; Derek Mayo 0-1), Eastern Nazarene 9-21 (Mike McCoy 3-5; Jaylen Owens 2-4; Justin Wagner 2-5; Max Barbosa 1-3; Jeremy Wagner 1-2; Brian Hard 0-2). Fouled out--Wentworth-None, Eastern Nazarene-None. Rebounds--Wentworth 32 (Derek Mayo 7), Eastern Nazarene 21 (Chima Ezeigbo 5). Assists--Wentworth 14 (Nico Donato 4; John-Michael Fragnoli 4), Eastern Nazarene 15 (Justin Wagner 4). Total fouls--Wentworth 14, Eastern Nazarene 19. Technical fouls--Wentworth-None, Eastern Nazarene-None. A-222
