SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore Ronnie Turner (Lewiston, Maine) scored a team-high 18 points to pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team to its second straight win, a 60-56 victory over Western New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.
With the win the Leopards improve to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in league play while the Golden Bears slip to 3-10 (1-6)
The Leopards took an early first half lead on the hot-shooting of Turner, who scored nine points on 3-pointers in the first half. He finished 6-of-7 from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Freshman Jherson Colon (Boston, Mass.) added 15 points and contributed to the strong defense shown by the Leopards.
Wentworth built an 18-point lead (35-17) at halftime, which ended with a trey at the buzzer from Ray Bessette. In the opening 20 minutes, the Leopards made 13 of 25 field goals for 52.0 percent compared to 8-of-23 for 34.8 for WNE.
However, in the second half, the Golden Bears made a push to get back in the game in a hurry by causing turnovers and winning the battle on the glass. The Golden Bears changed up their offensive attack by getting the ball down low, which resulted in 20 points in the paint. Junior Musa Elsir and senior Ryan Mickiewicz scored 10 and eight points, respectively, to key a 25-12 WNE run--highlighted by a dunk by sophomore Zack Askew (6 points)--over a 10-minute span to close within 47-42.
Wentworth was able to increase the lead to 51-42 at the 7:17 mark on consecutive baskets by Cam Sennick (Wilton, Maine) for his only points of the contest.
Western New England, however, didn't quit and was able to put together another surge to make it 51-50 after a pair of Dennis Rinaldi free throws with 2 minutes and 21 seconds remaining. Nick DeFeo, Askew and Mickiewicz all scored on lay-ups as part of the 8-0 run.
On Wentworth's following possession, Colon drained a trey from the wing to make it 54-50 with 2:01 to go. The teams traded points the rest of the way and Colon iced the victory with two free throws with four seconds left after Elsir converted a lay-in just two seconds earlier to make the score 58-56.
Elsir had 18 points and Rinaldi added 11 points and 12 rebounds while Mickiewicz added 10 points and DeFeo had nine points with five assists and two steals for the Golden Bears.
Both teams hit the road on Saturday as Wentworth is at Nichols and Western New England is at Endicott.
March 3, 2014
Colon Named CCC Rookie of the Week
February 27, 2014
Men's Basketball Falls to Gordon in CCC Semifinals
February 25, 2014
Mayo, Colon Named All-Commonwealth Coast Conference
February 25, 2014
Men's Basketball Pulls off Upset at Eastern Nazarene
February 22, 2014
Men's Basketball Edged in Regular-Season Finale
February 22, 2014
CCC Men's Basketball Tournament Pairings Set
February 19, 2014
Strong Second Half Powers Endicott Past Men's Basketball
February 15, 2014
Men's Basketball Edged at Roger Williams
February 12, 2014
Donato's Buzzer Beater Lifts Men's Basketball Past Western New England
February 8, 2014
Men's Basketball Suffers Setback at Eastern Nazarene
February 4, 2014
Men's Basketball Cruises to 10th Win of the Season
February 1, 2014
Second Half Run Pushes Gordon Past Men's Basketball
January 29, 2014
Men's Basketball Sees Three-Game Skid Come to and End
January 23, 2014
Endicott Works Overtime to Defeat Men's Basketball
January 20, 2014
Colon Repeats as Rookie of the Week
January 18, 2014
Men's Basketball Falls at Nichols
January 15, 2014
Men's Basketball Holds on For Win
January 13, 2014
Colon Earns CCC Rookie of the Week Honors
January 11, 2014
Men's Basketball Rallies Past Roger Williams
January 9, 2014
Men's Basketball Win Streak Halted by Eastern Nazarene
January 7, 2014
Long-Range Shooting Helps Men's Basketball Win Third Straight
January 4, 2014
Strong Defensive Effort Lifts Men's Basketball to Win at Gordon
December 31, 2013
Men's Basketball Rolls to Win Over Maine-Fort Kent
December 30, 2013
Vassar Fends Off Men's Basketball
December 9, 2013
Colon Earns CCC Rookie Rookie of the Week Honors
December 7, 2013
Balanced Attack Paces Men's Basketball to Win over Curry
December 4, 2013
Men's Basketball Falls in Conference Opener
November 26, 2013
Men's Basketball Pulls Away in Second Half
November 25, 2013
Turner Named CCC Men's Basketball Rookie of the Week
November 23, 2013
Tufts Rallies in Second Half to Defeat Men's Basketball
November 21, 2013
Clark Overtakes Men's Basketball in Second Half
November 16, 2013
Late Run Pushes Framingham State Past Men's Basketball
November 15, 2013
Men's Basketball Opens Season With a Win
November 15, 2013
Men's Basketball Picked to Finish Seventh in CCC Pre-Season Poll
October 19, 2013
Five Inducted Into Athletic Hall of Fame
July 23, 2013
Arlen Galloway Named Head Men's Basketball Coach