CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Junior guard Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 67-55 victory over host Wheelock College tonight at Brunelli Court on the campus of Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The Leopards win their second straight game to improve to 2-2, while the Wildcats fall to 0-2.
Wentworth took advantage of 17 trips to the free throw line, canning 14 tries for an 82.4% success rate, while Wheelock was just 3-9.
Mayo made a layup with 16:34 showing in the opening half to give the visitors an early 6-5 edge, but the Wildcats went on an 11-6 burst, capped by a three-pointer from junior guard Bunky Williams (Miami, Fla.) to take a 16-12 lead with 11:46 left in the first half. The Leopards answered with an 11-4 run, paced by eight of senior guard Dailon Wilson's (Houston, Texas) 12 points for the game, to reclaim the lead at 23-20 with 7:09 to go in the first period. Wheelock countered with eight straight points to take its largest lead of the evening at 28-23 with 5:32 to play in the half, behind five points from senior guard Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, Mass.). The see-saw battle continued as Wentworth put together an 8-1 stretch, capped by a layup from senior guard Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), to give the Leopards a lead they would not relinquish at 31-29 with 2:03 showing on the first half clock. Wentworth took a 35-31 cushion into the intermission.
The Leopards scored the first seven points of the second stanza, including five from Mayo, to increase their lead to 42-31 with 17:05 remaining in the second half and later extended their advantage to 48-35 for their biggest lead of the contest with 13:59 to go in the game. The Wildcats made one final effort to get back in the game with an 11-4 run to pull them to within 52-46 with 7:32 to play, but it would be as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Mayo finished 8-16 from the floor and was a perfect 4-4 from the line to go with six rebounds and a game-high five steals for Wentworth, while Johnson ended the night with 14 points on 6-9 from the field off the bench in addition to six boards and a steal. Wilson was 5-10 from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers and added an assist, a steal and a blocked shot.
Senior forward Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) led Wheelock with 12 points on 6-11 shooting and eight rebounds in addition to a pair of assists, while freshman point guard Rashaan Powell (Dorchester, Mass.) dropped in 11 points, made three steals and handed out a pair of assists. Higgins chipped in with nine points on 3-5 from the floor.
The Wildcats will be in action again on Wednesday, November 28 when they travel to the Theater District in Boston to take on Emerson College at 7:00 p.m., while the Leopards travel to Biddeford, Maine to take on University of New England in a Commonwealth Coast Conference game at 7:30 p.m. to open the league slate.
(Recap Courtesy of Wheelock Sports Information)
