QUINCY, Mass. – Freshman Jherson Colon (Boston, Mass.) poured in a career-high 25 points to help pace the seventh-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team to an 81-78 upset victory over second-seeded Eastern Nazarene in a Commonwealth Coast Conference quarterfinal.
With the win the Leopards (12-14) snap a three-game losing streak and advance to the semifinal round where they will travel to third-seeded Gordon, a 78-59 winner over sixth-seeded Roger Williams. In the other semifinal contest, fourth-seeded Salve Regina, a 77-76 win over fifth-seeded Endicott, will travel to top-seeded Nichols, a 73-54 winner over eighth-seeded Western New England. Eastern Nazarene sees its season come to an end with a 19-6 record.
Lion sophomore Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) led all scorers with 26 points on the night while adding six assists and four steals. He had a pair of 3-pointers early that gave the hosts an 8-6 advantage. A 7-0 run – with five points coming from Colon – gave Wentworth a 13-10 lead with 14:07 left before senior Brian Hard (Weymouth, Mass.) drained a three to tie the game at 13-all.
The teams would go back and forth until Eastern Nazarene broke a 21-all tie with five straight points as Owens drove to the hoop for a layup and Hard hit another three. A Colon basket and two free throws from sophomore Cam Sennick (Wilton, Maine) cut the lead to one, and, after freshman Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game with 7:24 left, senior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) hit a layup and classmate Scott Moran (Orange, Conn.) drilled a 3-pointer to put the Black & Gold ahead, 32-29, with 6:38 left.
Sophomore Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) drilled a three to force the eighth tie of the half with 5:59 left and neither team would score for the next 1:40 until junior John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) put Wentworth on top by a pair. After sophomore Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) tied the game at 34-all, Colon hit a three and Fragnoli converted a transition layup to give the Leopards a five-point advantage.
Owens and Christian Lynch combined to cut the lead to one with 53 seconds left, but junior Ray Bessette (Dedham, Maine) converted a layup off a long pass from sophomore Ian Therriault (Auburn, Maine) just as the buzzer sounded to give Wentworth a 41-38 edge at the break. Both teams shot well in the opening frame with Wentworth shooting 55.2 percent and Eastern Nazarene shooting 50 percent.
The Lions erased the halftime deficit by scoring the first six points of the second half and took a 44-41 lead on an Eric Lynch jumper 1:32 into the half. Colon answered with a three to tie the game at 44-all, and, after Owens put the hosts back up by two, Sennick tied the game with a basket of his own.
Eric Lynch took a feed from Owens and put the Lions on top by a pair, but Colon ended a two-minute scoring drought by both teams when he drained a three with 15:21 left to put the Leopards ahead, 49-48, with 15:21 left.
Two free throws by Owens made it a 50-49 game with 13:45 remaining before junior Nico Donato's (Glastonbury, Conn.) layup started a 17-6 spurt by the Leopards, which was capped off by a Mayo 3-pointer with 6:23 left, giving Wentworth a 66-56 lead. The Leopards led by as many as a dozen with 5:32 left, however, Eastern Nazarene used a 14-3 run to cut the lead to one on an Eric Lynch basket with 1:03 left.
Layups by Mayo and Colon pushed the lead to five with 30 seconds left before Justin Wagner drilled a three to trim the lead to two with 25 seconds left. Colon would hit two free throws to make it a four-point game with 12 seconds left.
Owens drove to the lane and converted a three-point play with six seconds left, cutting the lead to one with six ticks left. On the inbounds play, Moran was fouled and hit both free throws to make it a three-point game. Eastern Nazarene had one last chance to send the game into overtime, however an off-balance shot from the corner fell short securing the Wentworth upset.
Colon was 8-for-16 from the floor and also had a pair of rebounds and four assists. Mayo recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. Fragnoli also scored in double figures, tallying 10 points and grabbing four rebounds. Wentworth held a 40-32 advantage in points in the pain, an 18-6 advantage on second-chance points, and a 12-2 edge in fast break points.
Owens had a game-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting to go along with six assists and four steals. Lynch and Wagner each had 14 in the loss.
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