BOSTON, Mass. – Four players scored in double figures, including freshman Dan Gould (Quincy, Mass, who had a team-high 16 points as the Framingham State men's basketball team captured the 2013 Emerson College Tip-Off Tournament title with a 69-57 win over Wentworth.
Wentworth took a 10-3 lead early in the contest, using an 8-0 run to erase a one-point deficit. The Leopards would increase their lead to nine (17-8) on a sophomore Cam Sennick (Wilton, Maine) layup. Five straight Ram points cut the lead to four before a layup by Sennick and a free throw by junior Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) brought e lead to seven.
Framingham State countered with a 7-0 run of its own to tie the game at 20-all with 8:13 left as sophomore Tim McCarthy (Wilmington, Mass.) drained a 3-pointer. The Leopards built their lead up to five with just under six minutes left before the Rams scored the next five points to knot the game at 27-all and capped an 8-1 run with a three-point play from freshman Jahmari Thomas (West Tisbury, Mass.) which gave Framingham State a 30-28 lead.
After freshman Brian O'Neill (Green Pond, N.J.) tied the game at 30-all, Henderson converted a three-point play to push the lead back to three. O'Neill hit one of two free throws and Donato buried a jumper with 51 seconds left to tie the game for the fourth and final time of the half at 33-all.
The Leopards jumped out to a 41-36 lead with 15:55 left, thanks to a freshman Jherson Colon (Boston, Mass.) basket, however the Rams scored the next five points to tie the game at 41-all.
Colon hit a jumper and junior John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) hit two free throws to give Wentworth a 45-41 lead with 13:25 left. Henderson countered with four straight points before sophomore Ronnie Turner (Lewiston, Maine) drained a three to put the Leopards back up by three. Gould would answer with a three of his own and sophomore Joe McCabe (Canton, Mass.) gave the Rams a 50-48 with a layup.
The teams would see the lead change hands four times, with McCarthy giving Framingham the lead for good at 54-53 with 8:13 left. That basket began a span of nearly eight minutes where the Leopards, who would go a stretch of 8:49 without a field goal, would be outscored 14-0.
Henderson, the tournament's most valuable player, added 14 rebounds, while McCabe had 13 points. McCarthy had 10 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists.
Colon scored 18 for Wentworth to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Senior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) scored 10 points, while Donato chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds. Both Colon and Donato were named to the all-tournament team.
Wentworth (1-1) is at Clark Thursday night.
