Upset-Minded Leopards Fall in ECAC Quarterfinals

(Courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Sports Information)

WILLAMANTIC, Conn. - Sophomores Hamilton Levy (Woodbury) and Jamie Kohn (Columbia) combined for 20 second-half points to help lift the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team to its first post-season win in 17 years with a 64-59 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology Wednesday night in the first round of the 2010 ECAC New England Division III Tournament at Geissler Gym.

With the win, top-seeded Eastern (19-8) advances to the tournament semifinals Saturday at 4 p.m. and will host fourth-seeded Becker College (19-9). In the other semifinal Saturday at 7 p.m. second-seeded Elms College 22-60 faces sixth-seeded Husson University (16-11). The tournament final is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. All games will be played at Geissler Gymnasium.

In the second half, Kohn had 11 points and six rebounds and Levy nine points, three steals and two assists in eight minutes to spark the Warriors to their second tight win over eighth-seeded Wentworth (15-12) this year.

Eastern outscored Wentworth 9-4 over the final three minutes after breaking a 55-55 tie to pull out its 11th home win in 14 tries. With two minutes left and Eastern leading by two,, 59-57, Kohn grabbed the offensive rebound of a missed Eastern free throw and Levy sank a jumper to give Eastern a four-point lead. Wentworth senior guard Jack Barrett (Reading, MA) hit an off-balance layup while being fouled with 16 seconds left, but he missed the free throw and Eastern senior guard Edwin Ortiz (Hartford) converted one of two free throws 13 seconds left to give Eastern a three-point 62-59 lead. Kohn then swished two free throws with two seconds left after Wentworth missed an off-balance three-point heave.

Eastern scored 22 points on second-chance opportunities, more than doubling Wentworth's offensive rebound total.

With a team-high 15 points and game-high 11 rebounds, Kohn had his team-leading eighth double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Nick Nedwick (Irvington, NY) had 13 points and six rebounds, Ortiz 12 points and five rebounds and Levy 11 points (4-for-6 from the floor) and four steals.

Wentworth scoring and rebounding leader Sam Herrick (Duxbury, MA), a 6-foot-11 inch junior, was held to five points and five rebounds, but senior forward Matt Abbott (Falmouth, MA) came off the bench for a game-high 16 points and five blocked shots, and team-high nine rebounds.

Nedwick dropped in a driving layup off a pass from junior forward Bill Roveto (South Windsor), then fired in his only three-point field goal of the game 90 seconds later to boost the Warriors into a nine-point lead -- their largest of the game – eight minutes into the game and led by seven at halftime. Behind Abbott, however, the Leopards needed only two minutes in the second half to take their first lead since the opening basket of the game, 33-31. After sophomore guard Adam Dombrowski (Groton, MA) canned a three-point on Wentworth's first possession of the second half, Abbott turned two Eastern misses and a turnover (Abbott stealing the ball) into three consecutive hoops to give the visitors that two-point lead. The game was tied six times heading into the final minutes before Ortiz gave the Warriors the lead for good, 57-55, with two free throws with three minutes left.