BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Kyle Romich (Groton, Mass.) had 17 of his career-high 31 points in the second half and recorded a double-double as he also grabbed 10 rebounds to help the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team fend off Endicott, 77-75, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.
With the win the Leopards improve to 7-7 overall and 5-2 in CCC play while the Gulls see their four-game win streak snapped, falling to 8-6 (5-2).
In a rematch of last year's CCC title game, Endicott raced out to a 7-0 start before Wentworth used a 14-2 run to take a 14-9 lead with 13:41 remaining. During the run, Romich scored 11 straight points, including back-to-back trifectas in transition. The Leopards' lead swelled to nine when Romich drained another shot from behind the arc with 7:04 left, and, after a junior Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) layup, sophomore Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) put the hosts back in front by nine on the next possession.
The Gulls trimmed the lead to four (26-22) with 3:35 left in a briskly played first half, however seven straight points from junior Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.) gave the Black & Gold their first double-digit lead of the evening (33-22) with 1:11 left. Freshman Vinny Clifford hit a three with 32 ticks left to make it a 33-25 contest at the break.
Endicott outscored Wentworth 13-8 over the first 4:20 of the second half and pulled within three on a pair of junior Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) free throws. Ganley responded with a layup and the Leopards would eventually work the lead back to 10 on a pair of occasions, including when sophomore Sam Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) converted a layup with 9:59 left.
After the Gulls whittled the lead to two with 5:19 left, a 6-0 Leopard spurt which was capped off by a three-point play by Romich made it an eight-point game with 3:28 remaining. Holding an eight-point lead with 1:08 left Wentworth saw the lead slip to four after three pointers from Walker and junior Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) sandwiched around a pair of sophomore Ben Kizel (Short Hills, N.J.) free throws.
Lipscomb's trifecta made it 74-70 with 38 seconds left and Walker forced a turnover on Wentworth's next possession, which led to a junior Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) layup, cutting the lead to two with 27 seconds left. Wentworth would beat the press, however Ganley's shot attempt was blocked out of bounds by Walker. Out of a time out Romich was fouled and hit both free throws to make it 76-72 with 13 seconds left. Walker attempted a three which was off the mark and one of two free throws by Romich with five seconds left made it 77-72. Walker hit a three as time expired to make a 77-75 final.
In addition to his double-double, Romich also had five assists. DeVaux matched a career high with 18 points and Ganley added 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists. The Leopards had a 41-26 advantage on the glass and shot just under 50 percent for the game.
Walker scored 31 points and dished out four assists for the Gulls while Motroni added 22. Sampson and Basden had seven rebounds apiece. Basden also had four steals.
Both teams continue league play on Saturday as Wentworth is at Salve Regina and Endicott is at Gordon.
August 20, 2016
Romich, McLaughlin Earn Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards
August 1, 2016
Romich Earns Spot on NABC Honors Court
February 23, 2016
Men's Basketball Upset by UNE in CCC Quarterfinals
February 22, 2016
Romich Notches Third Player of the Week Honor
February 22, 2016
Romich, Ganley, Galloway Take Home CCC Honors
February 21, 2016
Men's Basketball Set to Host UNE in CCC Quarterfinals
February 20, 2016
Men's Basketball Downs Roger Williams, Earns Number Two Seed
February 16, 2016
Ganley's Heroics Lift Men's Basketball Past Endicott
February 13, 2016
Men's Basketball Sneaks Past Salve Regina
February 11, 2016
Academic All-District Honors Bestowed on Romich
February 10, 2016
Romich's Late Basket Lifts Men's Basketball Past Gordon
February 6, 2016
Eastern Nazarene Fends Off Late Men's Basketball Rally
February 2, 2016
Men's Basketball Streak Snapped by Western New England
January 30, 2016
Men's Basketball Rolls Past Curry for Second Straight Win
January 27, 2016
D3Hoops.com, ECAC Honor Ganley With Weekly Honors
January 27, 2016
Men's Basketball Cruises Past UNE
January 25, 2016
Ganley Named CCC Player of the Week
January 23, 2016
Strong Second Half Lifts Nichols Past Men's Basketball
January 18, 2016
Romich Earns CCC Player of the Week Honors
January 16, 2016
DeVaux's Hot Shooting Helps Men's Basketball to Second Straight Win
January 14, 2016
Men's Basketball Fends Off Late Endicott Charge
January 9, 2016
Fast Start Helps Roger Williams Get Past Men's Basketball
January 7, 2016
Strong Second Half Lifts Men's Basketball Past Eastern Nazarene
January 5, 2016
Men's Basketball Gets Back on Winning Track
December 30, 2015
Worcester State Pulls Away From Men's Basketball
December 29, 2015
Men's Basketball Outlasted by Clark
December 12, 2015
Balanced Attack Lifts Men's Basketball to Second Straight Win
December 8, 2015
Men's Basketball Rallies Past Curry
December 7, 2015
Romich Named CCC Player of the Week
December 5, 2015
Nichols Holds on to Defeat Men's Basketball
November 21, 2015
Strong First Half Pushes Tufts Past Men's Basketball
November 17, 2015
Men's Basketball Falls at Northeastern
November 14, 2015
Romich, Knollmeyer Pace Men's Basketball Past Emmanuel
November 13, 2015
Men's Basketball Picked Fourth in CCC Preseason Poll
November 13, 2015
Men's Basketball Edged in Season Opener
September 23, 2015
Men's Basketball Completes Schedule With Game at Northeastern