Men's Basketball Rallies Past Hartford

BOSTON, Mass. – For the 15^th time this season, Jack Connell of the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team led the Black & Gold in scoring with a game-high 33 points in a 72-65 win over Hartford in Conference of New England action Saturday afternoon.

Prior to opening tip-off, the Leopards honored their Team Impact teammate Graham Phillips and his brother, Ben.

With the win, the Leopards improve to 8-13 overall and 7-7 in CNE play. Hartford drops to 4-17 (2-12 CNE).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After Hartford opened the scoring, back-to-back threes by Connell gave Wentworth a 6-2 lead before the Hawks responded with a 12-0 run of their own, featuring two threes by Drew Stack. Trifectas by Connell and Niko Rosich cut the deficit to 14-12 before four straight points by Connell later on marked a 16-15 edge.
• Kaosi Chijioke sank a layup to put Hartford ahead by one before another Rosich three marked a 19-17 score. From there, the two teams swapped scores to a 27-24 advantage for the Leopards before a Jaylen Brown three knotted the score. Two threes by Brown and another by Troy Santos took part in a 9-0 run for Hartford, giving themselves a 36-27 lead, before the two teams swapped layups to end the first half in favor of the Hawks, 38-29.
• Wentworth began the second half with a 4-0 run to dwindle the deficit to 38-33 before Hartford answered with five straight to mark a 43-33 score. Nathan Brinkman sank a three to cut the deficit to 43-36 before a Rosich trifecta and Tyler Stewart layup dwindled into the lead at 43-41. Another Connell three later cut the deficit at 45-44 before a Chijioke make marked a 47-44 score.
• Jayden Williams dropped six straight points to give Wentworth a 50-47 lead before Rosich and Chijioke swapped makes to mark a 52-49 game. Hartford took a one-point edge at 53-52 before a Brinkman three regained Wentworth's lead at 55-53. A Santos three gave the Hawks a one-point lead back before, after traded scores, two Connell threes separated the Black & Gold at 66-57.
• Hartford drained six straight to cut their deficit at 66-63 before a Connell three marked a 69-63 game. The Hawks couldn't claw enough points back with the two teams trading free throws to mark a 72-65 final.
• Connell's 33 points (12-20 FG, 7-10 3PT FG) led all scorers as he added four assists. Chijioke led the Hawks with 17 points, nine boards, and five assists. Rosich also scored in double-figures, dropping 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-4 3PT FG). Stewart chipped in with eight boards and six assists as the Leopards held a 41-28 rebounding advantage.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today marked the fourth all-time meeting between the two teams.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts the University of New England on Tuesday night.

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