BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) came off the bench to score 17 points, leading four double-figure scorers, as the Wentworth men's basketball team clinched the number two seed in the upcoming The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament with a 79-61 win over New England College.
A back and forth start to the contest saw Wentworth take a three-point lead (9-6) on a dunk by senior forward Matt Abbott (Falmouth, Mass.) with 14:34 left before the Pilgrims trimmed the lead to one on two free throws from freshman guard Abdi Mohamed (Biddeford, Maine). Wentworth would score the next sought points to take a 17-8 lead on a three pointer from junior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) as the shot clock wound down.
Holding a five-point lead with 8:44 left in the half, Wentworth used a 14-4 run to take a 33-18 lead with 3:36 remaining on a trifecta from sophomore guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine). The lead would be extended to as much as 17 and the Leopards led, 41-25, at the break after shooting 54.8 percent from the floor and holding the Pilgrims to 30.8 percent.
The Leopards led, 47-32, with 17:11 remaining and would go on a 15-2 run over the next five minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 62-34. A late, 15-2 run turned a 28-point lead to a 15-point lead with 2:15 remaining, but that would be as close as New England College would get.
Monteiro connected on 7 of 11 shots and added four rebounds to pace the Leopards. Senior forward Shane West (Milford, N.H.) was 5-for-6 from the floor, en route to a 12-point, seven-rebound afternoon, while sophomore guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) added 12 of his own to go along with three steals. Senior guard Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass.) had 10 points and six assists. Junior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) had a game-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Eric Lenahan (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.) paced the Pilgrims with 10 points.
With the win, Wentworth's third in a row, the Leopards improve to 14-10 overall and 10-3 in TCCC play. Wentworth finishes tied with Curry for second, but gains the number two seed by virtue of a 76-64 win last Saturday. The Leopards will host seventh-seeded Western New England on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. New England College ends its season with a 6-19 (1-12) record.
