BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Eric Fanning (Trenton, N.J.) came off the bench to score 15 points and grab six rebounds to help the Boston University men's basketball team defeat Wentworth Institute of Technology, 69-46, in non-conference action at Case Gym.
The meeting was the first ever between the two schools and just the second time the Leopards have faced a Division I opponent.
With the win the Terriers improve to 4-7 on the season while the Leopards see their four-game winning streak snapped and fall to 4-5.
Boston University took an early, 7-2 lead with junior Justin Alston (Washington, D.C.) scoring four of the hosts first seven points. A 3-pointer from junior Ian Therriault (Auburn, Maine) and layup by senior John-Michael Fragnoli (Schenectady, N.Y.) would tie the game at 7-all with 15:26 remaining.
The Terriers used a 10-2 run to make it a 17-9 contest with 10:58 left in the half before a sophomore Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.) trifecta kicked the lead to five. However, five straight points by BU pushed the lead to double digits with 9:23 remaining.
Junior Kyle Romich (Groton, Mass.), who saw his first action as a member of the Leopards after transferring from Saint Anselm, hit a three and Therriault hit a free throw to make it a six-point contest with 8:36 left.
The Terriers responded with a 12-0 run, capped off by a junior John Papale (Wallingford, Conn.) three, to take a 34-16 lead with 5:13 remaining. Those would be the final points BU would score before the end of the half as the Leopards used a 9-0 spurt to close the gap to 34-25.
Senior Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) hit a trifecta 1:01 into the second half to cut the lead to six (34-28), however, the Terriers used a 22-2 run over the next eight and a half minutes to lead, 56-30. During the run, the Leopards were held scoreless for nearly four and a half minutes.
BU would lead by as many as 31 with 6:47 left in the contest, however Wentworth outscored the hosts 10-0 over the next 4:53 to trim the lead to 21 and trailed by as few as 20 with 52 seconds left.
Junior Nathan Dieudonne (Louisville, Ky.) chipped in with 13 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double as he finished with nine caroms. Papale had nine points – all on shots from behind the arc – and freshman Will Goff added seven points and five assists. The Terrier won the rebounding battle, 43-31, and scored 24 points off 21 Leopard turnovers.
Therriault and freshman Matthew Dean (Gilford, N.H.) led the Leopards with six points apiece. Donato, Romich, and senior Ray Bessette (Dedham, Maine) scored five apiece for the Black & Gold. Fragnoli had five rebounds and freshman Cesar Fulcar (Watertown, Mass.) had four assists. After shooting 47.4 percent in the first half, the Leopards were held to 26.7 percent in the second half, however would hold the hosts to under 40 percent (37.3) for the contest.
Wentworth plays its final non-conference contest of the season on Saturday at Lesley.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY 69, WENTWORTH 46
WENTWORTH (4-5)
Matthew Dean 2-3 0-0 6; Ian Therriault 2-4 1-4 6; Nico Donato 1-5 2-2 5; Ray Bessette 2-6 0-0 5; Kyle Romich 2-4 0-0 5; Michael Boaheng 2-2 0-0 4; Tim Juitt 2-7 0-0 4; Dan DeVaux 1-3 0-0 3; Cesar Fulcar 1-5 0-0 2; Sam Knollmeyer 0-4 2-2 2; John-Michael Fragnoli 1-4 0-0 2; Cam Sennick 1-1 0-0 2; Jovanny Lamisere 0-1 0-0 0; Ben Kizel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-49 5-8 46.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY (4-7)
Fanning, Eric 5-11 3-4 15; Dieudonne, Nathan 3-10 7-9 13; Papale, John 3-7 0-0 9; Goff, Will 2-3 2-2 7; Curry, Cameron 2-3 2-2 7; Mbargorba, Blaise 3-3 0-0 6; Alston, Justin 2-7 0-0 4; Johnson, Eric 1-3 1-4 3; Mosely, Cheddi 1-7 1-2 3; Havener, Nick 0-2 2-2 2; Haines, Dylan 0-2 0-2 0; Madrigal, Braiten 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 18-27 69.
Wentworth..................... 25 21 - 46
Boston University............. 34 35 - 69
3-point goals--Wentworth 7-24 (Matthew Dean 2-2; Ian Therriault 1-2; Kyle Romich 1-2; Ray Bessette 1-4; Dan DeVaux 1-3; Nico Donato 1-2; Sam Knollmeyer 0-4; Cesar Fulcar 0-4; Tim Juitt 0-1), Boston University 7-21 (Papale, John 3-4; Fanning, Eric 2-4; Goff, Will 1-2; Curry, Cameron 1-2; Johnson, Eric 0-1; Mosely, Cheddi 0-4; Madrigal, Braiten 0-1; Alston, Justin 0-1; Dieudonne, Nathan 0-2). Fouled out--Wentworth-None, Boston University-None. Rebounds--Wentworth 31 (JohnMichael Fragnoli 5), Boston University 43 (Alston, Justin 9; Dieudonne, Nathan 9). Assists--Wentworth 10 (Cesar Fulcar 4), Boston University 14 (Goff, Will 5). Total fouls--Wentworth 20, Boston University 13. Technical fouls--Wentworth-None, Boston University-None. A-247
