BIDDEFORD, Maine – Sophomore Alex Kravchuk (Mansfield, Conn.) tallied 16 points to pace five players in double figures as the University of New England men's basketball team outlasted Wentworth Institute of Technology, 125-109, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Tuesday night.
The 109 points for the Leopards sets a single-game program record, breaking the previous mark of 105 which was set in a 105-84 win over the Nor'Easters on January 17, 2004, while the 234 combined points are the most in a single game in program history since Wentworth and Suffolk combined to score 240 in a 131-109 Rams win on January 13, 1994.
With the win UNE improves to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in CCC play while the Black & Gold fall to 2-5 (1-2).
Two players – junior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) and sophomore Trey Carrier (Wilton, N.H.) – scored career highs, tallying 28 and 26 points, respectively, for Wentworth, which took a 5-2 lead to open the back-and-forth game. The Leopards took a 13-11 lead on a pair of junior Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) free throws with 15:42 remaining in the half before UNE took its first lead of the night on a junior Jackson McCoy (East Montpelier, Vt.) three pointer 50 seconds later. Kravchuk's two free throws extended the lead to 18-15, however, a layup and two free throws from Azums gave the Black & Gold a 19-18 lead with just over 14 minutes to play.
A 9-2 UNE run gave the hosts a 27-21 lead as freshman Noah Malone (South Portland, Maine) had six of the nine points. The Leopards crept back and took a 31-30 lead on two free throws from Vartanian and, after McCoy hit one of two from the line, sophomore Gavin Keough (Dunstable, Mass.) hit a three to put the visitors on top, 34-31. Using an 8-2 run, Wentworth took a 42-33 lead after Carrier hit a three pointer and the Leopards held a 55-45 lead with 4:09 left in the half after freshman Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.) hit two free throws. After sophomore Drake Gavin (Old Lyme, Conn.) cut into the lead with a three pointer, Bice converted a three-point play to push the lead back to double figures.
The Nor'Easters scored the next seven points to pull within three (58-55) after senior Daron Hoges, Jr., hit two free throws with 95 seconds left in the half. Freshman Luca Mirabello (Newington, Conn.) ended the run with a jumper, which was followed by a sophomore Kyle Frank (Pelham, N.H.) jumper. Azums converted a three-point play with 32 seconds left, putting the Black & Gold on top, 63-57, however, UNE scored the final four points of the half to pull within a pair, 63-61.
Both teams struggled to score in the early part of the second half, however UNE scored nine of the first 13 points in the frame to take a 70-67 lead after a made jumper by Frank. Carrier hit two free throws which pulled Wentworth within one (70-69), but the Nor'Easters used an 8-3 run to take a 78-72 lead on a freshman Ray Evans (Troy, N.Y.) layup. Sophomore Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) made a layup on the other end and, after a missed three-point attempt, Carrier pulled Wentworth back to within a point after hitting a three pointer.
UNE took a 97-85 lead with 9:25 left after sophomore Ricardo Castillo (Methuen, Mass.) hit a three. The hosts extended their lead to 16 with just over seven minutes remaining on a sophomore Matt Lorman (Rutland, Vt.) three and took a 20-point lead with 3:28 left.
Junior Avery DeBrito (New Bedford, Mass.) scored 15 points, while Gavin added 13. Sophomore Jordan Bagshaw (Cumberland, Maine) tallied 11 points and Malone finished with 10 points. Senior Drew Patno (Lunenburg, Mass.) had a team-high nine rebounds.
Azums recorded a double-double for Wentworth as he had a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with his game and career-high 28 points. Keough chipped in with 17 points while Vartanian had eight points, six rebounds, and two blocks and classmate Ellis Christmas (Elmsford, N.Y.) had eight points and five steals. Senior Zach Bergeon (Litchfield, N.H.) had a game and career-high seven assists. As a team, the Leopards shot 56.1 percent from the floor and had a 39-38 rebounding advantage.
Wentworth hosts Emmanuel on Saturday.
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