NEWPORT, R.I. - Junior guard Ray Bessette (Dedham, Maine) scored a career-high 22 points to lead visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology to an 80-66 victory over Salve Regina University in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action at the Rodgers Recreation Center.
Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine), Cam Sennick (Wilton, Maine), and Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) gave Wentworth an early 6-0 lead with layups in the first two and a half minutes. Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) put Salve Regina on the board with his free throws at 16:50.
The visitors then engineered a 9-2 run for their first double-digit lead of the game, 15-4, with 13:26 left in the half. Again, Bielefeld was responsible for all four Seahawk points to that point.
Senior co-captain Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) came off the bench to spark a 19-2 run for the Seahawks. His layup and 3-pointer sandwiched around a Bielefeld layup cut the deficit to four points, 15-11, at 11:24.
Junior Eric MacKinnon (South Easton, Mass.) also came off the bench to score his career-high 13 points, all in the first half, on five of six shooting including three threes. His second 3-pointer at 7:34 gave Salve Regina its largest lead of the game, 23-17.
But Bessette made three 3-pointers in less than two minutes during an 11-2 run for Wentworth as the visitors regained the lead, 28-25. MacKinnon's final 3-pointer tied the game again and later Brenden Fowler's (No. Attleboro, Mass.) three-point play gave Salve Regina its last advantage, 31-29, with 2:58 to go in the half.
Bessette and Jherson Colon (Boston, Mass.) ended the first-half scoring with 3-pointers to put the Leopards up four at the break, 35-31.
The Leopards opened the second half with a 10-1 run with Bessette scoring the first five points and adding a three-point play at 16:38. The Leopard lead stayed in double-digits until a 14-6 run for the Seahawks was capped by a layup from Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.) at 4:42, making the score 62-54 for Wentworth.
Mayo had two 3-pointers during a subsequent 14-2 run for Wentworth which raised its lead to 20 points, 76-56, into the final minute of play. Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) scored two quick 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 14 but that would be the final margin.
Three other Leopards joined Bessette in double-figure scoring - Mayo (15), Colon (14), and John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) with 11 points. Bielefeld led the Seahawks with 16 points and seven rebounds while Dinneen added 14 points and MacKinnon finished with 13 points.
Like last year, the teams split the season series winning on the other's home court.
Salve Regina hits the road this weekend to play at Nichols before returning home on Tuesday when it hosts Endicott. The Leopards return to Boston for a two-game home stand, first against Gordon on Saturday and then University of New England on Tuesday.
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