HENNIKER, N.H. – Junior Jack Connell (Walpole, Mass.) poured in a game-high 27 points as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team defeated New England College (3-8), 69-62, in non-conference action Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• New England College jumped out to a 9-4 lead less than four minutes into the contest with graduate student Jayden McGrew (Garland, Texas) capping off five straight Pilgrim points with a layup. The hosts extended their lead to 18-10 after a sophomore Michael Hills (Baton Rouge, La.) jumper but Wentworth responded with five straight points – a layup from freshman Sean Racette (Trumbull, Conn.) and a three pointer from sophomore Mike Yentin (Beverly, Mass.) – to cut the lead to 18-15 with 11:32 left.
• The Pilgrims pushed the lead to seven (22-15) on a pair of sophomore Junior Efosa (Haverhill, Mass) free throws at the midway point of the frame, however, Connell responded with eight straight points to give the Leopards a 23-22 lead with 7:11 left. The lead would change hands a pair of times with Connell draining a three with 3:07 left to put the Black & Gold ahead, 30-28. Two free throws from sophomore Russell Dolabany (Westwood, Mass.) and two more from the charity stripe from Connell gave Wentworth a 34-28 lead at the half.
• Senior Sam Goy (Derry, N.H.) opened the second half with a layup to push the lead to eight (36-28), however, NEC countered with an 8-0 run and tied the game at 36-all on a junior Alex Williams (Miramar, Fla.) jumper with 16:34 left. At the other end of the floor, Connell had a three to break the tie but Williams made a layup with 14:14 left, tying the game at 41-all. Dolabany hit a pair of free throws and junior Justin Dunne (Derry, N.H.) answered with a layup, knotting the game at 43-all.
• A jumper from Connell started a 9-2 Wentworth run, which saw the Black & Gold take a 52-45 lead with 9:56 left on a layup from junior Nathaniel Smith (Beacon Falls, Conn.). The Pilgrims scored the next five points to pull back within a pair, however, the Leopards went back up by eight after a Racette layup, a Connell three, and one of two free throws from Goy. A Smith layup with 4:59 left gave Wentworth its largest lead of the contest (62-53) and, while the Pilgrims cut the lead to three (63-60) with 2:23 to play, Wentworth would extend its lead to as many as eight late in the game to seal the win.
• Connell was 10-for-20 from the floor and also grabbed six rebounds. Junior Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out five assists. Sophomore Nathan Brinkman (Trumbull, Conn.) added eight points in the win.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Tonight marked the 37th all-time meeting between the two teams. Winners of 10 in a row in the series, Wentworth leads, 24-13.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth faces UMass Dartmouth at the USJ Holiday Tournament in West Hartford, Conn., on December 29.

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