BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) scored 23 of his program-record 39 points in the second half to help pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team to its third straight win, an 81-72 victory over Gordon in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Tuesday night.
Ganley's 39 points breaks the previous mark of 36, which was set by Ludger Bain '97 against New England College on January 23, 1995, and equaled by Bain a little over two years later (March 1, 1997) when the Leopards claimed their first CCC title at Eastern Nazarene. Sherrad Prezzie-Blue '08 most recently matched the record when he scored 36 at Framingham State on December 4, 2007.
With the win the Leopards improve to 9-7 overall and end the first half of CCC play with a 7-2 mark, which ties them for first place with Endicott and Nichols. The Fighting Scots suffer their third straight setback to stand at 7-9 (4-5).
The hosts held a pair of five-point leads in the early stages of the contest, including when Ganley, who scored nine of Wentworth's first 12 points, converted a layup with 15:23 left in the opening stanza. Gordon would use a 13-2 run to take a six-point lead, which was capped off by three free throws from freshman Luke Haar (Huntington Beach, Calif.) with 10:37 remaining.
Wentworth used a 10-3 run and took a 24-23 lead on a senior Kyle Romich (Groton, Mass.) three pointer, however freshman Luke Meyer (Patchogue, N.Y.) put the Fighting Scots back on top with a three of his own. The teams traded baskets until four straight points from Romich gave the Leopards a 30-28 lead. Wentworth took a 37-31 lead into the locker room with Ganley scoring 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor.
Ganley opened the second half with a three pointer to make it a nine-point game and the Leopards would lead by that many on two more occasions early, including when sophomore Sam Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) hit a three with 16:06 left.
The Leopards held a 10-point lead with 13:12 left after two free throws from junior Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.), however Gordon went on a 14-3 run and took a 58-57 lead with 8:00 left when senior Udoka Obiora (Boston, Mass.) converted a three-point play.
A three-point play by Ganley gave the Leopards the lead back, however the two teams would battle through three ties before the hosts took the lead for good when Romich converted a layup with 4:44 left, and, after an offensive four, Ganley hit a jumper in the paint. Wentworth extended its lead to eight with 2:35 left when Ganley drained a three to set the record.
Ganley finished the game 13-for-17 from the floor, which included going 6-for-8 from behind the arc. He also grabbed six rebounds. Romich finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Wentworth, which shot 50 percent in the second half, held Gordon to just under 40 percent shooting from the floor and had a 42-41 rebounding advantage. The Leopards also turned 11 Fighting Scot turnovers into 18 points.
Freshman Garrison Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) led Gordon with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Freshman Eric Demers (West Wareham, Mass.) and junior Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) had nine points apiece for the Fighting Scots.
Wentworth is at Nichols on Saturday while Gordon hosts Roger Williams that same day.
