BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) scored a game-high 16 points to lead four Wentworth players in double figures as the Leopards defeated the University of New England, 75-44, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.
With the win the Leopards improve to 10-9 overall and 7-6 in CCC play while the Nor'Easters fall to 1-19 (1-12).
The two teams opened the game going back and forth with the Leopards breaking a 10-all tie on a basket from junior John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) and a 3-pointer from classmate Ray Bessette (Dedham, Maine). UNE responded with a 6-0 spurt and took a 16-15 lead on a 3-pointer from junior Jake Abel (Fairfield, Calif.) with 11:28 left in the half.
Wentworth would go on a 23-2 run over the next six minutes, capped off by a Bessette layup, to take a 38-18 lead with 5:36 left in the half. During the run, junior Nico Donato (Glastobury, Conn.) had seven points and Mayo drained a pair of shots from behind the arc. The Leopards, who shot 61.5 percent from the floor over the opening 20:00, led by as many as 21 before taking a 45-27 lead into the locker room.
A 9-0 run to open the second half – with sophomore Cam Sennick (Wilton, Maine) scoring four points – pushed the lead to 27 with 14:42 left. The Nor'Easters would get within as few as 22 with 9:33 left after sophomore William Abdul-Malak (Beirut, Lebanon) hit a jumper, but the Leopards scored the game's next nine points to push the lead to 31.
In addition to his 16 points, Mayo, who was 6-for-9 from the floor, had six rebounds and five assists. Sennick scored 14 points and had five rebounds, Bessette added 11 points and seven rebounds, and freshman Jherson Colon (Boston, Mass.) scored 11 points and had three assists. Wentworth held a 37-24 edge on the glass and scored 25 points off of 18 UNE turnovers.
Freshman Brayden Morse (Long Beach, Calif.) led UNE with 10 points while Abdul-Malak added nine. Senior Kurt Steiner (Rutland, Mass.) had four assists while sophomore Jesse Dykstra (Douglas, Mass.) had a team-high six rebounds.
Wentworth is at Eastern Nazarene on Saturday. That same day the Nor'Easters host Salve Regina.
