BOSTON, Mass. – Senior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) and junior guard Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) each scored 14 points to help pace the Wentworth men's basketball team to its second straight win, a 58-51 triumph over Nichols in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
A tightly contested opening to the contest saw two ties and three lead changes before the Bison turned a two-point deficit into a four-point lead, thanks to sophomore forward Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) who scored six straight points.
Therriault hit two free throws with 11:20 left to cut a four-point deficit in half, but neither team would score for the next 3:18 when Nichols freshman guard Jalen Graham (Ansonia, Conn.) hit a jumper. Wentworth countered with a basket of its on from freshman guard Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.).
Both teams would suffer through another scoring drought, this one lasting nearly two minutes before junior guard Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) would score the Bison's next four points, sandwiched around a Prue basket.
Trailing 20-16, Wentworth went on a 7-0 run, capped off by junior guard Colin Johnson's (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) three pointer and led 23-20 with 13 ticks left in the half. Freshman forward Joe Gallant (Salem, N.H.) made it a one-point game at the break as he scored a layup at the buzzer.
Kuntz gave Nichols a 24-23 lead at the start of the second half before senior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) put the Black & Gold back on top with a three pointer. Kuntz answered with two free throws to tie the game at 26-all and Gallant added a free throw to give the Bison a 27-26 lead with 15:45 left.
Baskets by Therriault and sophomore forward Davon Daniels (Paterson, N.J.) put Wentworth on top, 30-27, but a three-point play by Sheehan tied the contest for the fifth time.
Prue drained a three pointer that put Wentworth on top for good at 33-30. On three occasions Nichols cut the lead to one before the Leopards would take a 50-43 lead on a Prue basket with 1:19 to play. The Bison used two free throws from Kuntz and a three-point play from Sheehan to make it a 50-48 game with 44 ticks left, but Wentworth went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 38 seconds to seal the win.
In addition to each scoring 14 points, Prue had seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Therriault had five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Freshman forward John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds, and a pair of blocks.
Sheehan led all scorers with 18 points while Kuntz added 16 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Mike Salis (Nashua, N.H.) had six points, eight rebounds, and seven assists for the Bison.
With the win the Leopards improve to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in CCC play. The Leopards host Western New England Tuesday night. Nichols falls to 2-8 (0-3) and hosts Endicott, also on Tuesday.
