BOSTON, Mass. – Four consecutive free throws in a 13-second span from junior guard Christiaan Hamond (Seattle, Wash.) snapped a 71-all tie and lifted Fisher to an 87-77 win over Wentworth in a non-conference contest played at Tansey Gymnasium.
During the opening six minutes, there were six ties and neither team held more than s two-point lead. With the score tied at 12-all, junior forward Casey Pursell (Seattle, Wash.) drained a three to put the Falcons ahead, 15-12. Sophomore guard Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) cut the lead to one, but a basket by junior guard Louis Williams (Burlington, Vt.) and one by sophomore forward Daniel Nance (Brooklyn, N.Y.), sandwiched around a junior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) basket, kept the lead at three.
The seventh tie of the half came at the 9:52 mark when sophomore guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) drained a three, knotting the contest at 19-all. Fisher led, 26-21, with 8:09 left and would extend their lead to 36-26 when Williams hit a basket with 3:51 remaining. A fast-break layup off of a steal by Pursell with 1:33 left gave the Falcons a 40-31 lead, but the Leopards responded by scoring the next four points, on a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Adam Dombrowski (Groton, Mass.) and a layup from Monteiro. A tip-in from Hamond with three ticks left in the period round the scoring out and gave Fisher a 42-35 lead. Over the first 20:00, the hosts shot 57.7 percent and held a 22-15edge on the glass.
A three pointer by Nance 2:09 into the second half extended the Falcon lead to 50-42 before Wentworth used an 11-2 run to take its first lead of the game, 53-52, on a put back by freshman guard Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine). Senior guard Ryan Henry (Westwood, N.J.) gave Fisher a 55-54 lead with 10:27 left before the Leopards outscored the Falcons, 10-5, over the next 3:37 to take a five-point lead with 6:45 left. After junior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) made it a four-point game (68-64) with 4:42 left, Hamond buried a three which cut the lead to one, and, after a turnover, sophomore forward Dennis Northford (New Haven, Conn.) gave Fisher a 69-68 lead.
A pair of free throws by Monteiro would give Wentworth its last lead of the day at 70-69. Henry gave Fisher a 71-70 lead with a basket coming with 2:13 left before senior forward Shane West (Saco, Maine) tied the game for the 11th and final time with a free throw at 2:00. Hamond buried two free throws on the ensuing possession, and, after he forced a turnover, he hit two more free throws to push the lead to 75-71. Henry hit two more free throws with 1:12 left, extending the lead to six before Monteiro hit a layup with 1:08 left to cut the lead to 77-73. That would be as close as Wentworth would get as the Falcons scored 10 of the game's final 17 points.
Hamond paced five double-figure scorers with 20 points to go along with seven assists and six steals. Henry had 18 points, six rebounds, and three steals, while Norford added 17 of his own. Pursell and Nance scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. Fisher forced 26 Wentworth turnovers and scored 29 of its 87 points off of those turnovers.
Wentworth was led by Herrick, who tallied 18 points, grabbed five rebounds, and had three assists. Dombrowski was 6-for-9 from the floor, en route to a 16-point performance, while Monteiro (14 points, nine rebounds) and West (10 points, seven rebounds, five assists) added to the offense. Wentworth shot 56.4 percent from the floor for the game and held a 41-28 rebounding advantage.
The win, Fisher's fifth in a row, improves the Falcons' record to 7-1. Fisher hosts Fitchburg State on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Wentworth ends first semester play at 2-4 and the Leopards are idle until Jan. 2 when they face NYU at the NYU Holiday Invitational.
