WENHAM, Mass. – Junior Jack Connell (Walpole, Mass.) became the 17th Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball student-athlete to reach 1,000 points for his career as the Leopards overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Gordon, 76-59, in Commonwealth Coast Conference play.

Connell, who needed 15 points entering the contest to hit the century mark, got his 15th point on a free throw with 8:00 left in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Early on, the hosts took an 11-4 lead after a freshman Lucas Mouthaan (Marblehead, Mass.) jumper with 15:30 left. Wentworth pulled within four (22-18) after graduate student Thomas Hacker (Averill Park, N.Y.) hit one of two free throws. Mouthaan made a jumper on the Fighting Scots' next possession, which started an 8-0 run and gave the Fighting Scots a 30-18 lead with 5:47 left.
• Junior Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) made a layup, which started a 6-2 spurt, bringing the lead back to singe digits. Junior Bryce Smith hit a three to put the hosts ahead, 37-26, with 1:51 left, however, Wentworth cut the lead back to single digits when Stewart hit two free throws with 36 seconds left, making it 39-31 at the break.
• Trailing 45-36 with 17:32 left, sophomore Nathan Brinkman (Trumbull, Conn.) hit a three which started an 11-0 run and gave Wentworth a 47-45 lead with 14:19 left after Stewart converted a three-point play. Smith tied the game with a jumper, however, the Black & Gold used an 18-3 run with Connell scoring eight of those points to reach the milestone.
• A three pointer from Smith capped off a 7-0 run that brought Gordon to within eight (65-57) with 4:53 left. Wentworth put the game out of reach with a 9-0 run.
• Stewart led all scorers with 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds and five assists. In addition to his 15 points, Connell had four rebounds. Freshman Sean Racette (Trumbull, Conn.) scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Wentworth swept the season series for the second straight season and has now won four in a row against Gordon.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is at Roger Williams on Wednesday.

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