BOSTON, Mass. – Junior swingman Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) connected on 11-of-14 shots from the floor for a season-high 28 points as the Wentworth men's basketball team defeated Eastern Nazarene, 75-55, in Commonwealth Coast Conference play Saturday afternoon at Tansey Gymnasium.
The Leopards, who won their second straight contest, scored on their first two possessions and never looked back in the win. Sophomore guard Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) opened the game with a layup before Therriault, on a second chance opportunity, drained the first of his five 3-pointers on the afternoon.
Eastern Nazarene pulled within one (9-8) with 15:42 left in the half on a 3-pointer from junior guard Aaron Johnson (Roslindale, Mass.), but Wentworth countered with an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 17-8 lead. During the run Mayo had four points.
After the Lions made it a 21-14 game on one of two free throws from junior Chima Ezeigbo (Roanoke, Va.), the Leopards got four straight points from Therriault and a 3-pointer from junior guard Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) to up the lead to 14 with 7:18 to play in the half.
Eastern Nazarene cut the lead to as few as nine late in the half, but a freshman guard Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) basket with 53 ticks left made it a double digit game at the break (37-26). Over the first 20 minutes the hosts shot 57.1 percent from the floor and committed just five turnovers.
Wentworth built its lead to as many as 16 in the early stages of the second frame before Eastern Nazarene would cut the lead to 11 on a sophomore forward Brian Hard (Weymouth, Mass.) basket with 10:26 left. A Therriault 3-pointer and 3-point play, sandwiched around a Ezeigbo basket, pushed the lead to 15 with 9:26 left, and, after a senior forward CJ Gonzales (Providence, R.I.) basket made it a 55-42 game, the Leopards got baskets from Johnson and sophomore forward Davon Daniels (Paterson, N.J.) to make it a 17-point game.
Included in his 11-for-14 from the floor, Therriault was 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Freshman forward John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) added nine points, three rebounds, and three blocks, while senior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) had eight points, six rebounds, and five assists. Daniels had a game-high 10 boards, to go along with his seven points. As a team the Leopards, who shot 54.5 percent from the floor, had 26 assists on 30 field goals, with senior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) leading the way with eight.
Ezeigbo led the Lions with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. Hard was 5-for-7 from the floor in an 11-point afternoon, while Johnson had 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
With the win the Leopards improve to 11-6 overall and 7-4 in CCC play, while Eastern Nazarene falls to 3-14 (2-8). Both teams are in action Tuesday night; Wentworth hosts Endicott and the Lions are at Nichols.
