Stewart Powers Men's Basketball to Road Win at Gordon

WENHAM, Mass. – Sophomore Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) posted a double-double with a career-high 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds, pacing three student-athletes in double figures as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team picked up an 89-78 win over Gordon in Commonwealth Coast Conference play Thursday night.

Outscoring the Fighting Scots by a 54-40 margin in the second half, the Leopards shot 62.1 percent (18-for-29) from the floor over the final 20 minutes to erase a halftime deficit.

RECORDS:
Wentworth (6-5, 2-3 CCC)
Gordon (6-6, 2-3 CCC)

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

WENTWORTH LEADING SCORERS:  Tyler Stewart, 27; Jack Connell, 22; Jack Schaake, 12
WENTWORTH LEADING REBOUNDERS:  Stewart, 12; Schaake, 9
WENTWORTH ASSIST LEADERS:  Stewart, 5, Connell, 4; Schaake, 3; Sam Swift, 3

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A tightly contested start to the game saw seven lead changes in the first 5:30 with senior Sam Swift (Arlington, Mass.) hit a three to give Wentworth a 10-9 lead. The Leopards took a 16-11 lead on a Stewart tip-in with 12:32 left before Gordon scored the next seven points, taking an 18-16 lead on a freshman Rob Shelansky (East Hartford, Conn.) layup.
• Senior Conor Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) hit a three and followed with a layup and freshman Russell Dolabany (Westwood, Mass.) made a jumper, pushing the Leopards ahead, 23-18 just under the midway part of the opening frame. The Black & Gold extended their lead to 28-20, 1:10 later on a layup from senior Jack Schaake (Hampton, N.H.). Using a 10-0 run, the Fighting Scots responded to take a 30-28 lead after a senior Garrett Sattazahn (Morris, Conn.) three pointer.
• Gordon extended its lead to 36-31 on a three from freshman Ryan Tertel (Tucson, Ariz.) three with 2:09 left and held a five-point lead (38-33) with 1:30 left. Stewart hit two free throws with 30 seconds left to make it 38-35 at the break.
• Swift opened the second half with a three, starting a 7-2 run which gave Wentworth a 42-40 lead. Four straight free throws from Sattazahn gave the hosts a two-point edge but the Black & Gold responded with a 9-0 run, taking a 51-44 lead after Stewart hit a pair of free throws. The Leopards pushed their lead to nine (60-51) on a freshman Nathan Brinkman (Trumbull, Conn.) three with 12:08 left before the Fighting Scots closed the gap to 68-63 with 6:19 left on a senior Justin Yu (North Brunswick, N.J.) three.
• A 10-3 run, capped off by Connell, gave Wentworth its first double-digit lead of the night (78-66) with 3:50 remaining and Connell made a layup with 1:35 left to give the Black & gold their largest lead of the night (84-71).
• Stewart finished the night 10-13 from the floor and also had five assists. Connell had 22 points and four rebounds, while Schaake had 12 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. The Leopards had a 44-33 rebounding advantage and turned 15 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 65th all-time meeting between the two teams. Wentworth holds a 42-23 series lead. The Leopards won at Gordon for the first time in the last six meetings.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is at Endicott on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

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