HENNIKER, N.H. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team would hold off a late Pilgrim surge and eventually capture the 71-58 victory over New England College Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both clubs. The win was Wentworth's fifth straight, matching a season-high.
The two teams would battle evenly through the opening five minutes before Wentworth would use a 9-1 run to jump out to a 15-7 lead midway through the half. The Leopards would extend their lead to 20 with 3:09 remaining, shooting an impressive 48% from the field and holding the Pilgrims to just 21% shooting in the opening half. NEC would show life late closing out the half outscoring Wentworth 7-4 and head into halftime trailing 34-17.
NEC would open the second half with seven straight points cutting the Wentworth lead to 34-23 at the 17:43 mark. The Pilgrim offense would continue to show life as they would use an 11-0 run midway through cutting the lead to just four trailing 38-34. Wentworth would respond quickly rebuilding their lead to 19 up 57-38 with 4:03 remaining.
NEC would get 12 points from senior Shane Hennessey in the final two minutes as he would surpass the 1,000th points mark finishing his career with 1,001 points. Wentworth would close out the final minute an impressive 11-for-12 from the foul line eventually cruising to the 71-58 victory.
Leading the way for Wentworth was Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) who finished with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, including his 257th rebound of the season in the early stages. That rebound established a new single-season Leopard record, as he now has 269. Wentworth's Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) finished with 16 points and dished out five assists, while Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) chipped in 14 points for the Leopards.
NEC's Shane Hennessey finished with a double-double scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Troy Prather (Claremont, Calif.) chipped in eight points and Abdirahman Mohamed (Biddeford, Maine) finished with seven points.
With the win the Leopards finish the regular season 16-9 overall and 10-3 in the TCCC. Wentworth has earned the number two seed heading into the TCCC Playoffs and will host an opening round game on Tuesday, Feb. 22 against Colby-Sawyer. The Leopards beat the Chargers this past Wednesday night, 74-60. With the loss the Pilgrims finish the season 17-8 overall and 6-7 in conference play.
-Story Courtesy of New England College Sports Information-
May 20, 2011
Herrick Named to D3Hoops.com All-Star Team
March 2, 2011
Leopards Fall in Double Overtime, 96-95
February 28, 2011
Wentworth Earns Second Straight ECAC Tournament Berth
February 26, 2011
Leopards Fall in TCCC Title Game, 68-58
February 24, 2011
Leopards Advance to TCCC Title Game, 63-61
February 22, 2011
Wentworth Roars to 67-54 Win in TCCC Tournament
February 21, 2011
Herrick Named TCCC Defensive Player of the Year
February 21, 2011
Herrick, Vallone Grab TCCC Honors
February 19, 2011
Wentworth Runs Win Streak to Five With 71-58 Win
February 19, 2011
TCCC Men's Basketball Tournament Pairings Set
February 16, 2011
Wentworth Notches Fourth Straight With 74-60 Win
February 12, 2011
Men's Basketball Claims Third Straight With 64-56 Win
February 10, 2011
Wentworth Cruises to 69-55 Win Over Eastern Connecticut
February 8, 2011
Devitt Wins 100th Game as Wentworth Downs Nichols
February 5, 2011
Men's Basketball Falls to Anna Maria, 74-68
February 3, 2011
Wentworth Wins Third Straight
January 31, 2011
Dombrowski Tabbed as TCCC Co-Player of the Week
January 29, 2011
Wentworth Wins Second Straight, 76-58, Over Regis
January 27, 2011
Wentworth Breaks Away From Salve Regina, 70-67
January 22, 2011
Men's Basketball Falls to Endicott, 75-71
January 19, 2011
Wentworth Falls at Western New England, 63-54
January 18, 2011
Herrick Named TCCC Player of the Week
January 15, 2011
Wentworth Rolls to Fifth Straight Win, 64-46
January 11, 2011
Wentworth Runs Win Streak to Four
January 8, 2011
Wentworth Opens League Play With 66-40 Win
January 6, 2011
Wentworth Holds on to Top Newbury, 58-54
January 3, 2011
Strong Second Half Pushes Wentworth Past Muhlenberg
January 2, 2011
Wentworth Falls to Moravian, 81-65
December 30, 2010
Wentworth Shoots Past Gordon, 79-47
December 7, 2010
Connecticut College Snaps Wentworth's Win Streak, 66-52
December 6, 2010
Prue Named TCCC Co-Player of the Week
December 4, 2010
Men's Basketball Rolls to Second Straight Win
November 30, 2010
Men's Basketball Defeats Coast Guard, 61-48
November 22, 2010
Former Leopards Enjoying Success in England
November 20, 2010
Men's Basketball Falls to Adrian, 54-43
November 19, 2010
Men's Basketball Falls to Rowan, 69-63
November 17, 2010
Leopards Fall to Southern Maine, 68-65
November 15, 2010
Leopards Drop Season Opener, 87-80, in Overtime
November 13, 2010
Men's Basketball Picked Third in TCCC Pre-Season Poll