QUINCY, Mass. - Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) scored a career-high 29 points to help lead the Eastern Nazarene men's basketball team to its sixth straight win with a 71-61 victory over Wentworth Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center.
With the win the Lions improve to 16-4 overall and 10-4 in Commonwealth Coast Conference action while the Leopards slip to 10-11 (7-7).
Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) chipped in with eight points and three assists off the bench for the Lions while Seniors Brian Hard (Weymouth, Mass.) and Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) each netted seven points in the win. Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) paced Eastern Nazarene on the glass with seven boards while Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) recorded six points and six rebounds.
The Lions surged out to a 10-2 lead 4:48 after the opening tip, capped off by a trey by Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.). The hosts stretched their advantage to nine points with 11:17 left to play on a lay-in by Hard, 17-8.
Wentworth battled back to cut the deficit to two with 7:32 remaining, 17-15, on a layup by Ian Therriault (Auburn, Maine) and tied the game at 19-19 on a pair of free throws by John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) with 5:24 to go in the half.
Eastern Nazarene claimed a one-point edge with 14 seconds left to play as Owens buried a three-pointer, 26-25.
The Lions opened the second half on a 12-2 run en route to establishing an 11-point advantage, 40-29. Wentworth trimmed the margin to five points with 4:43 remaining in the contest as Nico Donato (Glastobury, Conn.) tossed in a layup, 52-47.
Eastern Nazarene restored its lead to double-figures with two minutes to go in the game as Eric Lynch banked in a lay-up to make it a 59-49 contest.
Both squads tallied 12 points in the final two minutes as the Lions picked up their sixth-consecutive victory.
Freshman Jherson Colon (Boston, Mass.) led the visitors with 19 points while Donato finished with 14.
Both teams are back in action on Wednesday night as Eastern Nazarene is at Salve Regina and Wentworth hosts Western New England.
(Portions of this recap courtesy of Eastern Nazarene sports information)