BOSTON, Mass. – Senor guard Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass.) scored 14 points and had five assists while senior forward Matt Abbott (Falmouth, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team won its third straight game, and in the process climbed to .500, with an 80-68 win over Regis in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference contest at Tansey Gymnasium.
The host Leopards jumped out in front when Barrett opened the game by draining a three pointer on the game's initial possession and held a three-point lead five times after that, with the last coming on an Abbott basket with 13:09 remaining in the half. The Pride, however, would score the next four points on a basket from James Cooper (Philadelphia, Pa.) and a fastbreak layup from Jesse Vega (Pawtucket, R.I.) to take its only lead of the game, 15-14, with 10:46 left.
Sophomore guard Adam Dombrowski (Groton, Mass.), Abbott and sophomore guard Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) scored consecutive baskets to put Wentworth ahead for good, taking a 20-15 lead. The Leopards would eventually increase their lead to eight, but a 7-2 Regis spurt, capped off by a Cooper three-point play, narrowed the margin to three with 3:34 left in the half. Despite neither team scoring over the final 1:18 of the first half, Wentworth took a four-point lead (31-27) into the locker room.
Leading 37-33 with just over 17:00 remaining, Wentworth used a 9-3 run to push the lead to 10 but a quick, 7-0 run by the visitors made it a three-point game. After junior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) and Vega traded baskets, the Leopards outscored the Pride, 16-7, over the next 6:00 to take a 12-point lead and the lead was extended to as much as 15 with just under 3:00 to play.
Dombrowski added 10 points for Wentworth, while senior forward Shane West (Milford, N.H.) added nine points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists for Wentworth, which shot 54.8 percent in the second half and held the visitors to 35.5 percent shooting for the game – including just 8.3 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Regis had four players in double figures with Cooper leading all scorers with a game-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. Darrin Kelly (South Dennis, Mass.) had 13 points and three steals, Phil Alibrandi (York, Maine) had 11 points and six rebounds, while Vega had 10 points and six rebounds.
With the win Wentworth improves to 9-9 overall and 5-2 in TCCC play and the Leopards travel to defending conference champion the University of New England on Wednesday night. Regis drops its third straight to stand at 8-11 (4-3) and is also in action on Wednesday, traveling to Gordon.
