BRISTOL, R.I. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team earned its fourth win in its last five games with a 71-64 win over Roger Williams Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Wentworth moves to 9-5 overall and 5-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, while the Hawks drop to 5-9 and 2-5 in the conference.
Mike Igoe (Lexington, Mass.) gave the Hawks an early 2-0 lead with a basket on RWU's second possession. After Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) put in a pair of free throws for Wentworth, Adam Cook (Manasquan, N.J.) responded with a trey for the Hawks to give RWU the lead back at the 18:20 mark.
The Hawks would hold the lead for the next five minutes until Ray Bessette (Dedham, Maine) regained the lead for the Leopards with a three-pointer, putting Wentworth on top 12-10 with 13:56 to play in the first half. This would be characteristic of the flow for the first period, with the two teams combining for six lead changes and three ties.
However, Cook answered with another three for a one-point Hawk lead. His basket helped kick-start a 20-8 Hawk run that would give the Hawks a ten-point lead (30-20) with 4:45 left in the half. However, Wentworth closed out the period on a 13-4 run, pulling within one going into halftime (33-34).
Wentworth's Dailon Wilson (Houston, Texas) opened the period with a three-pointer to put the Leopards up by two. Wentworth would hold on to the lead most of the opening part of the period. The Hawks regained the advantage at the 11:28 mark, with Igoe knocking down a trey to put RWU up 49-47.
From that point on, Wentworth tied the game twice at 55 and 58 but did not gain the lead until 3:27 left in the game, with Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) putting in a three-point for a 61-60 Leopard lead.
Roger Williams pulled within one (62-63) on a James LeCardi (Fair Haven, N.J.) layup with 2:24 to go, but Mayo buried another one from downtown on the next Leopard possession to bring the lead back to four.
After a Hawk turnover with 1:32 left, Wentworth was able to burn nearly a minute off the clock thanks to a pair of offensive rebounds on two missed shots. The sequence ended up helping the Leopards significantly towards the win.
Wilson, Mayo, and Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) each scored 11 points in the game for Wentworth Institute of Technology, with Mayo adding five rebounds and Johnson, six. Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) finished with six points, five boards, and three steals.
The Hawks were led by Igoe with a game-high 17 points. LeCardi added 14 points and three assists, while Cook finished with 11 points and five assists. Josh McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) added eight points and a steal off the bench.
Wentworth seeks its third straight win Tuesday when the Leopards host Salve Regina with a 7:30 p.m. CCC matchup, while Roger Williams looks to snap a three-game skid at Nichols College, also on Tuesday.
(Recap courtesy of Roger Williams Athletic Communications)
