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Men's Basketball Holds Off Western New England for Second Straight Win

Men's Basketball Holds Off Western New England for Second Straight Win

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior Jason Ganley's (Northbridge, Mass.) gam-high 25 points led three players in double figures as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team picked up its second straight victory with a 70-65 win over Western New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference play Saturday afternoon.

With the win the Leopards improve to 10-11 overall and 8-6 in league play while the Golden Bears fall to 4-16 (3-11).

The visitors opened a quick, 5-0 lead on a Ganley jumper and a three pointer from senior Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.). Western New England battled back to take a 9-7 lead on a senior Daniel Silva (Seekonk, Mass.) layup with just under 15 minutes left.

Wentworth went on an 8-0 run, capped off by three free throws from DeVaux, to make it 15-9 with 12:35 left and again led by six after Ganley hit two from the charity stripe with 8:00 left. The Leopards led by as many as nine when Ganley hit two free throws with 5:29 left, however Western New England clawed its way back, using a 14-5 run to close the half and tied the game at 35-all on a sophomore Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) layup just before the buzzer sounded.

The Leopards regained the lead early in the second half, taking a five-point advantage with 16:32 left on a freshman Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) basket. Six straight points gave the Golden Bears a 42-41 lead on a Pettway basket and began a back-and-forth portion of the contest which featured three ties and two lead changes. Trailing by a basket, Wentworth went on an 11-2 run and took a 55-48 lead on two free throws from Ganley and Ganley gave the visitors a 61-52 lead with a basket with 5:17 remaining.

Wentworth upped its lead to 10 on two free throws from junior Sam Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) with 2:58 left, however Western New England would not go quietly, using a 10-3 run to cut the lead to 68-65 on a three by Silva with 21 seconds left. With 13 seconds left Ganley sealed the win with two free throws.

In addition to Ganley's 25 points, DeVaux finished with a dozen and junior Ben Kizel (Short Hills, N.J.) added 10. Vartanian had a game-high 10 rebounds. As a team Wentworth went to the free throw line 43 times and had a 46-31 rebounding advantage.

Wentworth is at Salve Regina on Wednesday.

For the latest on Wentworth Athletics, follow the Leopards via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Wentworth Leopards "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.

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