NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomore Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I) snapped a 64-all tie as he buried a three pointer with three seconds left to lift the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team to its first win of the season, 67-64 over Connecticut College in the opening day of the Coaches vs Cancer Classic.
With the win the Leopards improve to 1-2 on the season while the Camels dropped their season opener.
While neither team's offense was quick to get going, Wentworth jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the game's first five minutes as Senior Zach Bergeon (Litchfield, N.H.) scored five points and junior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) scored four. The Leopards took their largest lead of the half at 20-8 when freshman Luca Mirabello (Newington, Conn.) made a jumper with 8:22 remaining.
Outscoring the Leopards by a 15-6 margin, Connecticut College cut the lead to three (26-23) with 56 seconds left in the opening half when senior Phil Leotsakos (Arlington, Mass.) hit one of two free throws. One of two free throws from junior Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) with 39 seconds left gave the Black & Gold a 27-23 lead at the half.
Freshman Joseph Hecker (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) scored Wentworth's first five points of the second half, which were sandwiched around a Camel jumper and gave the Leopards a 32-25 lead less than a minute into the frame. Wentworth extended its lead to 35-27 with 18:32 remaining, however, Connecticut College used a 9-0 run and took a 36-35 lead on two free throws from senior David Labossiere (Stoneham, Mass.).
A pair of free throws and a jumper from sophomore Gavin Keough (Dunstable, Mass.) gave the Black & Gold a 39-36 lead, however, the Camels reclaimed the lead (46-43) on a three-point play from sophomore Justin Nwafor (East Hartford, Conn.) with 2:03 remaining. Five straight Wentworth points gave the Leopards a 48-46 lead and the teams traded points with neither team able to gain more than a two-point lead before a jumper from Labossiere (Stoneham, Mass.) with 4:16 left gave Connecticut College a 60-56 lead.
Bergeon hit a three and Hecker hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 60-all, however, the Camels re-took the lead, 64-61 with 2:34 left. One of two free throws from Bergeon and a layup from Azums tied the game at 64-all with 1:44 remaining. Both teams had chances to go ahead, however, neither team would score for the next 1:41.
Henseler's heroics came after Connecticut College missed a go-ahead jumper with nine seconds left. Azums grabbed the rebound and the Black & Gold set up for the go-ahead shot. After both teams called time out, the Camels had a chance to send the game into overtime, however, missed a game tying three-point attempt.
Azums led the Leopards with 19 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. Bergeon finished with 15 points, while Henseler had 12 points to round out a trio of Wentworth players scoring in double figures. Vartanian and Hecker each had seven points in the win. Wentworth scored 23 points off 19 Connecticut College turnovers.
Labossiere matched Azums with 19 points and also grabbed eight rebounds, Sophomore Dan Draffan (Hamden, Conn.) recorded a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. The Camels had a 42-34 rebounding edge.
Wentworth plays Coast Guard on Sunday afternoon.
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