EDINBURG, Texas – Senior guard Jared Maree (Houston, Texas) scored 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting to pace the university of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team to a 65-48 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in a non-conference contest Thursday night. The game was Wentworth's first-ever contest versus an NCAA Division I opponent.
Wentworth opened the game with a freshman forward John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) basket and began a see-saw battle that would see five lead changes in the first 6:55 of action. Fragnoli had four of the Leopards' first 11 points.
The Broncs took a 13-11 lead when sophomore forward Enrique Mason (Indianapolis, Ind.)converted a three-point play, but senior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) hit two free throws to tie the game at 13. UTPA scored the next four points to take a 17-13 lead before junior guard Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) drained a three to cut the lead to one at 17-16 with 10:11 left.
UTPA got back-to-back baskets from Maree and junior forward Ruben Cabrera (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) to extend the lead to 21-16, and, after a Therriault free throw, the two connected on back to back baskets to up the lead to 25-17.
After junior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) nailed a three to pull the Leopards within five, the Broncs closed out the half with a 15-4 spurt and took a 40-24 lead into the break.
Therriault had seven first half points for the Leopards, who were held to 32.1 percent from the floor. UTPA shot 63.6 percent over the first 20 minutes.
The Broncs would lead by as many as 23 in the second half, but Wentworth held the hosts in check, thanks in part to nine second half points from Prue and six from Fragnoli. Defensively, the Leopards held UTPA to 43.5 percent shooting in the second half.
Junior guard Brandon Provost (Katy, Texas) added 11 points and four assists for UTPA, which improves to 4-8 and travels to West Point Sunday for a game against Army.
Prue connected on 5-of-8 shots from the floor, en route to a 14-point night, while Fragnoli matched a career high with 10 points. Sophomore Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) had six assists and three steals for Wentworth, which stands at 4-3 and is idle until traveling to Newbury on January 5.
"I am very proud of how our group battled, especially in the second half," said Wentworth head coach Tom Devitt. "Hopefully holding a scholarship team to 43 percent (second half) shooting in their own gym will translate into growth and success in conference play."
