BOSTON, Mass. – For the second consecutive season and third time since 1998, the Wentworth men's basketball team has earned a berth in the ECAC New England Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. The fifth-seeded Leopards (18-10) will travel to fourth-seeded Albertus Magnus (17-10) in one quarterfinal contest on Wednesday (March 2) in New Haven, Conn.
The Leopards, who saw their season high seven-game win streak come to an end with a 68-58 loss to Salve Regina in The Commonwealth Coast Conference championship game, have posted a 15-5 record in calendar year 2011 after starting the season 0-4 and eventually 3-5. Senior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.), TCCC Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-TCCC selection, leads the Leopards by averaging a double-double at 13.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per contest. Herrick has posted five straight double-doubles to bring his season total to 14. Herrick is also averaging 1.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game for ninth-year head coach Tom Devitt (106-128).
Sophomore forward Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) 12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, while leading the team with 57 three pointers made. Junior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.), whose trifecta with nine seconds left in regulation set the conference title game into overtime, is averaging 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per contest. He is second on the team with 47 three pointers made.
Senior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) enters the tournament averaging 7.0 points and 3.2 assists per tilt, while freshman forward Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. As a team the Leopards, who have held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting in 13 games this season, have a scoring margin of +5.8 points per game and a rebounding margin of +5.3.
Wentworth faces a Falcon squad that was eliminated in the semifinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament by eventual conference champion, 128-107. Albertus Magnus has eclipsed the 90-point plateau 13 times and has reached triple digits three times. A prolific offense led by three double-figure scorers, is averaging 86.8 points per game. Junior forward Ray Askew (Hamden, Conn.) leads the way, averaging 21.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game to go along with averaging 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. Senior guard Walden St. Juste (Hartford, Conn.) averages 17.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. Freshman forward Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.) is averaging 13.4 points and five rebounds per contest.
The Falcons, who had won eight in a row before the Johnson & Wales loss, placed Askew (first team) and St. Juste) on the All-GNAC Team as first and second team selections, respectively.
This will be the third meeting between these two schools, with Wentworth holding a 2-1 series advantage. Each team has won on its home court in the series, with the Leopards taking the last meeting, a 90-56 win at UMass Dartmouth's Hampton Inn Classic on November 17, 2007. The winner of this game will face the winner of the top-seeded Eastern Connecticut vs eighth-seeded Regis game as a part of the semifinals and finals weekend.
Wentworth is 1-2 in its previous three ECAC Tournament games. In 1998 the Leopards defeated Bridgewater State, 85-73, before losing to Colby-Sawyer, 70-63. Last season Wentworth was seeded eighth and narrowly pulled off the upset at Eastern Connecticut, falling by a final score of 64-59.
2011 ECAC Division III New England Men's Basketball Tournament
Wednesday, March 2 (First Round)
Game #1: #8 Regis (15-11) at #1 Eastern Connecticut (19-9), 7:30
Game #2: #5 Wentworth (18-10) at Albertus Magnus (17-10), 7:00
Game #3: #6 Brandeis (16-9) at #3 Keene State (17-10), 7:00
Game #4: #7 Mass. College (16-9) at #2 Anna Maria (18-9), 7:00
Saturday, March 5 (Semifinals – at Highest Remaining Seed)
Game #1 winner vs Game #2 winner, TBA; Game #3 winner vs Game #4 winner, TBA
Sunday, March 6 (Championship – at Semifinal Site)
Semifinal Winners, TBA
Leopard Links:
2010-2011 Roster
2010-2011 Schedule
2010-2011 Statistics
ECAC Release
ECAC Bracket
