BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) recorded a double-double as he scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 60-43 win over Wheelock in non-league action played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the Leopards snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 2-3, while the Wildcats dip to 0-4 on the season.
The hosts held a three-point lead early, and after a freshman Anthony Williams (White Plains, N.Y.) basket cut the lead to one, freshman Brian O'Neill (Green Pond, N.J.) hit a 3-pointer that put Wentworth ahead, 8-4, with 13:12 remaining. That basket began a 15-4 run for the Black & Gold who would take a 20-8 lead on a sophomore Ronnie Turner (Lewiston, Maine) steal and basket with 5:47 remaining.
After Wentworth had taken its largest lead of the half (25-12) on a Turner layup, Wheelock used an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to trim the lead to 25-20 with 1:02 left in the half, and would head into the locker room trailing by that same score.
Outscoring the Wildcats by a 10-2 margin over the first six minutes of the second stanza, the Leopards pushed their lead back to 13 on a sophomore Ian Therriault (Auburn, Maine) basket. After Wentworth maintained a double-digit lead for most of the half, Wheelock would get as close as nine (49-40) with 4:39 left. However, the Leopards held the Wildcats to just three points over the final 4:39 and outscored the visitors 11-3 to close out the game.
Mayo connected on 6-of-10 shots and had three steals while Turner also recorded double figures, scoring 13 points, grabbing four rebounds, and recording four steals. Therriault and senior Scott Moran (Orange, Conn.) had six points apiece, with Moran and sophomore Cam Sennick (Wilton, Maine) grabbing six rebounds each. The Leopards held a 41-28 edge on the glass.
Wheelock sophomore Rashaan Powell (Dorchester, Mass.) led all scorers with 17 points, while Anthony Williams recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Paul Coucci (Dartmouth, Mass.) grabbed nine rebounds and freshman Nicholas Fenton (East Hartford, Conn.) had a game-high six assists.
The Leopards open Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Wednesday, December 4, when they host Salve Regina. Wheelock opens New England Collegiate Conference play a night earlier, traveling to Daniel Webster.
