BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) scored a career-high 25 points and classmate Matt Harte (Troy, N.Y.) went 6-for-7 from the floor in a 13-point effort as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team won its fifth straight game with an 80-67 win over Nichols in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
A back-and-forth first half saw nine ties and 11 lead changes with neither team leading by more than four points at any time. That four-point cushion came when Mayo and Harte had consecutive layups and senior Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) hit one of two free throws, erasing a 13-12 deficit and giving the hosts a 17-13 edge with 14:12 left.
A pair of 3-pointers from sophomore Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) gave the Bison a 19-17 lead with just over 11 minutes left and the Bison would take their largest lead of the half when senior Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) snapped a 25-all tie with a 3-pointer with 5:24left in the half.
The ninth tie of the half came on a conventional three-point play from Langadas with 28 seconds left in the half, knotting the score at 37-all before Harte gave Wentworth a 39-37 edge at the break when he scored off a putback with four seconds left. Both teams shot well from the floor in the opening stanza as the Leopards connected on 13-of-23 attempts (56.5 percent) and Nichols 15-of-30 (50.0 percent).
Junior Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) hit a layup on the Bison's opening possession of the second half to tie the game for the 10th and final time. Wentworth opened a four-point (45-41) lead on a Mayo 3-pointer with 17:05 left. Nichols scored the next five points on a three from Kuntz and a layup from Sheehan to take a 46-45 lead with 16:34 left, however, that would be the final time the Bison would hold the lead as the Leopards outscored Nichols, 25-7, over the next 10 and a half minutes to take a 72-55 lead with 5:21 left and would lead by as many as 21 with just under three minutes remaining.
For the game the Leopards shot 57.4 percent, including going 16-for-24 from the floor in the second half, and held a 33-20 rebounding edge. Wentworth converted 12 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.
Mayo was 9-for-16 from the floor and also had four assists and two steals. Sophomore John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) and Johnson each scored 11 points to round out four double digit scorers. Fragnoli also had a team-high seven rebounds.
Langadas had 15 points and three assists for the Bison, while Sheehan and Kuntz added 13 and 11, respectively. The Bison shot 51 percent from the floor for the game.
With the win Wentworth improves to 14-7 overall and 10-4 in CCC play. The Leopards are at Salve Regina on Wednesday night. Nichols falls to 12-9 (7-7) and is at Roger Williams, also on Wednesday.
WENTWORTH 80, NICHOLS 67
NICHOLS (12-9, 7-7 CCC)
Matt Langadas 5-7 3-3 15; Ryan Sheehan 6-12 1-2 13; Justin Kuntz 4-9 0-0 11; Irving Eggleston 2-3 2-3 7; Jessy Michaud 2-2 2-2 6; Joe Gallant 2-3 0-0 4; Sam Horning 2-3 0-0 4; Craig Merrick 1-4 0-0 3; Kyle Mascilak 0-2 2-2 2; Gustave Koumare 1-1 0-0 2; Chris Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Jalen Hurst 0-1 0-0 0; Christian Horton 0-0 0-0 0; Marlon Bennett 0-2 0-0 0; Michael McMahon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-49 10-12 67.
WENTWORTH (14-7, 10-4 CCC)
Derek Mayo 9-16 5-7 25; Matt Harte 6-7 1-3 13; John-Michael Fragnoli 4-6 3-3 11; Colin Johnson 4-6 1-2 11; Nico Donato 4-7 0-1 9; Corey Therriault 2-7 0-0 5; Dailon Wilson 2-3 0-0 4; Ray Bessette 0-1 2-2 2; Cam Sennick 0-1 0-0 0; Seamus Ward 0-0 0-0 0; Ian Therriault 0-0 0-0 0; Tim Juitt 0-0 0-0 0; Shawn Ricker 0-0 0-0 0; Scott Moran 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-54 12-18 80.
Nichols....................... 37 30 - 67
Wentworth..................... 39 41 - 80
3-point goals--Nichols 7-18 (Justin Kuntz 3-5; Matt Langadas 2-4; Irving Eggleston 1-1; Craig Merrick 1-3; Jalen Hurst 0-1; Marlon Bennett 0-1; Ryan Sheehan 0-3), Wentworth 6-10 (Colin Johnson 2-2; Derek Mayo 2-4; Corey Therriault 1-2; Nico Donato 1-1; Dailon Wilson 0-1). Fouled out--Nichols-None, Wentworth-None. Rebounds--Nichols 20 (Matt Langadas 4), Wentworth 33 (John-Michael Fragnoli 7). Assists--Nichols 19 (Justin Kuntz 5), Wentworth 20 (Dailon Wilson 4; Derek Mayo 4). Total fouls--Nichols 18, Wentworth 15. Technical fouls--Nichols-None, Wentworth-None. A-200
