NORTON, Mass. – Sophomore Ricardo Ripley (Sharon, Mass.) connected on 5-of-6 shots, including going 3-for-4 from behind the arc, to score a team-high 17 points as the Wheaton College men's basketball team opened the 2018-2019 season with an 81-68 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in non-conference action Saturday afternoon.
The Leopards, who dropped their season opener, had four players score in double figures, including junior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) who scored a game-high 18 points (on 8-of-11 shooting) and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Wentworth jumped out to a 7-2 lead early, thanks to a layup from Azums, a jumper from sophomore Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.), and a three pointer from sophomore Gavin Keough (Dunstable, Mass.). Using an 8-2 run, Wheaton took a 10-9 lead after a three-point play from senior Duaka Ekwensi (Morris Plains, N.J.) with just under 16 minutes remaining.
The Leopards regained the lead, 19-16, on a three pointer from senior Zach Bergeon (Litchfield, N.H.) and extended their lead to 24-18 on a Keough three pointer with 11:27 remaining in the half. Just over two minutes remaining the Lyons pulled within a pair at 24-22, however, Wentworth brought the lead back to five (31-26) after freshman Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.) hit a pair of free throws.
Using a 10-2 run, the hosts took a 36-33 lead after a senior David Carbonello (Windham, N.H.) jumper with 3:09 left and held a 40-35 lead at the break.
Wheaton took a 46-39 lead with 16:36 remaining when Ekwensi hit one of two free throws, however, Wentworth battled back to pull within three (46-43) with 15:08 left after Azums made a layup. The Lyons responded by hitting three straight three-pointers in a 9-3 spurt and took a 55-46 lead with 12:22 left in the contest.
The hosts extended their lead to nine with 9:18 left on one of two free throws from Ekwensi before The Black & Gold whittled the lead to five (65-60) on an Azums layup coming with 6:17 remaining before Wheaton responded with an 11-0 run to push the lead to 16 (76-60) with 3:12 remaining. Back-to-back three pointers from Bergeon and Henseler brought Wentworth within 10, however, the Leopards would get no closer.
Ekwensi and senior Riley Tetreault (Walpole, mass.) each chipped in with 16 points in the win while junior Alex DuBrow (Foxboro, mass.) had a game-high 10 assists. Wheaton shot 53.8 percent from the floor and had a narrow, 29-28 rebounding advantage in the win.
In addition to Azums' 18 points, Bergeon scored 13 points while Henseler had a dozen and Delahunt added 11. Henseler also grabbed five rebounds and freshman Joseph Hecker (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) had four assists.
Wentworth has its home opener on Wednesday (November 14) against Framingham State at 7:00 p.m.
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