BEVERLY, Mass. – Sophomore Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) knocked down a three pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team to a 75-72 victory over Endicott in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest played at MacDonald Gymnasium.
Winners of three straight the Leopards sit at 14-10 overall and 12-5 in league play, which is tied for second with Eastern Nazarene. The Gulls saw their five-game win streak snapped to stand at 14-10 and are presently in fourth place in league play at 11-6.
The visitors raced out to a 16-0 lead in the opening 6:32 of the game and held Endicott without a field goal for the first 7:28. Senior Kyle Romich (Groton, Mass.) buried a pair of three pointers during the game-opening run.
Endicott used an 11-0 run to cut the lead to five after a junior Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) layup with 8:16 remaining and extended the run to 12-0 when sophomore Joel Villa (Bronx, N.Y.) made one of two free throws. Romich would score the next four –and seven of the next nine – Wentworth points to put the Black & gold on top 25-12 with just over five minutes remaining.
Sophomore Jovanny Lamisere (Watertown, Mass.) hit a pair of free throws to give Wentworth a 27-14 lead with just under four minutes left, however the Gulls responded with a 7-0 run by junior Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) to make it a six-point game with 2:14 left. Romich and sophomore Sam Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) combined to hit four straight free throws to extend the lead to 10 and Wentworth led by six (32-26) at the break.
Back-to-back three pointers from junior Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) tied the game at 32-all with 17:36 remaining in the contest. Romich answered with a layup, however two Sampson free throws and a pair of free throws from junior Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) gave Endicott a 36-34 lead with 16:22 left.
Wentworth trailed 40-38 after two junior Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) free throws with 14:29 left, however the Leopards responded with a Romich jumper and two Ganley free throws to even the score at 42-all. Ganley would again tie the game with two free throws before Endicott scored five straight points to take a 49-44 lead with 11:22 left after a Motroni layup.
Endicott held a six-point lead on three occasions, including after a Motroni layup with 4:34 left, however a 9-0 run – capped off by a Romich layup – would give Wentworth a 60-57 lead with 1:09 remaining.
Motroni hit two free throws with 54 seconds left to cut the lead to one and Romich answered with a pair with nine seconds left. On Endicott's next possession, Walker drove to the basket and was fouled, converting the three-point play which sent the contest into overtime.
In the extra frame Wentworth took a 66-62 lead behind two Ganley free throws and a Romich basket. Walker hit a jumper and freshman Rob O'Brien tied the game with two free throws with 3:26 left and senior Chris Light (Derry, N.H.) gave the hosts a 68-66 lead to cap off a 6-0 spurt. Ganley and Motroni each hit one of two free throws, keeping it a two-point game and Romich tied the contest with two free throws with 1:46 remaining.
After an Endicott missed layup, Knollmeyer converted a three-point play which gave the Leopards a 72-69 lead. With 55 seconds left, Motroni tied the game at 72-all with a three pointer, and, after a missed Leopard layup, the Gulls had a chance to take the lead, however Motroni's shot wouldn't fall with 13 seconds left. Ganley grabbed the rebound and Wentworth would work the ball back around to Ganley, who buried the game winner from the top of the arc after getting the pass from Romich.
Romich had a career-high 32 points in the win, which eclipsed his previous career high of 31 in the first meeting of the season between the two teams. Knollmeyer scored 13 points and Ganley had 12.
Motroni led the Gulls with 25 points while Sampson (14) and Walker (10) also scored in double figures for Endicott.
Both teams wrap up the regular season on Saturday with home games. Wentworth looks to lock up the number two seed as the Leopards host Roger Williams while Endicott hosts Western New England.
