Second Half Run Helps Men's Basketball Pull Away from Norwich

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Sophomore Kevin Fernandez (Lawrence, Mass.) connected on 8-of-11 shots from the floor, en route to a game-high 18 points as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team (8-3) pulled away from Norwich (2-8), 83-54, in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon.

Fernandez led three players in double figures to help the Leopards outscore the Cadets, 43-22, in the second half, holding the hosts to 29 percent shooting from the floor.

THE BASICS:

LEADING SCORERS:  Kevin Fernandez, 18; Stephen Azums, 14; Noah Bice, 12
LEADING REBOUNDER:  Stephen Azums, 7
ASSIST LEADER:  Kyle Henseler, 7

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Playing in its first game since December 7, Wentworth never trailed in the contest and took its largest lead of the first half, 22-12, after a basket from junior Mayo Aina (Providence, R.I.) with 10:08 remaining in the frame. Norwich answered with an 8-2 run, capped off by a three from senior Dan Bertrand (Saugus, Mass.), to cut the lead to 24-20 with 8:32 left.
• Sophomore Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.) answered with a three to put the Leopards back up by seven on the next possession, which started a 7-0 run and saw the Black & Gold take a 31-20 lead after a basket from Fernandez.
• Wentworth pushed its lead back to double figures after senior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) hit two free throws with 3:59 left and one of two free throws from freshman Jack Schaake (Hampton, N.H.) made it an 11-point game 2:42 later. A three-point play from senior Josh Dumay (Framingham, Mass.) with 59 seconds left cut the lead to 40-32, giving the Black & Gold an eight-point edge at the break.
• The Leopards shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the opening half, including connecting on 54.5 percent (6-of-11) of their shots from behind the arc.
• Fernandez opened the second half by hitting a three to give the Leopards an 11-point lead and Wentworth led by as many as 14 on a Fernandez basket with 12:41 left. At the other end of the floor, the Cadets looked to gain momentum after a Dumay dunk 18 seconds later, however, Wentworth broke the game open with a 22-3 run, capped off by a junior Tyler Lennon (Atkinson, N.H.) layup with 4:53 left in the contest, giving the visitors an 80-49 lead.
• In addition to Fernandez, Azums scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Bice added 12 with all of his points coming from behind the arc. Junior Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) dished out seven assists.
• Wentworth shot 53.3 percent from the floor, held Norwich to 39 percent from the floor, and had a 37-31 rebounding edge.
• Junior Kyle Booth (Northfield, Vt.) led Norwich with 16 points while Dumay added 14.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth kicks off 2020 with a home game against UMass Boston on Thursday (January 2) at 1:00 p.m.

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