BIDDEFORD, Maine – Jean-Luc Parker (Georgetown, Texas) and CJ Autry (Standish, Maine) each registered 16 points for the University of New England in a 72-58 Commonwealth Coast Conference men's basketball win over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Wednesday night at the Harold Alfond Forum.
The Nor'easters make it a season-split with the Leopards, moving to 6-12 on the year and 4-7 in CCC action. With the setback – their first in five outings – the Leopards now sit at 8-10 overall and 6-5 in league contests.
Parker also had five rebounds and four assists for UNE, while Autry hit four three pointers and pulled down a team-high eight boards. Daron Hoges, Jr. (West Orange, N.J.) tossed in 12 points off the bench, hitting 5-of-7 from the floor. Drew Coveney (Londonderry, N.H.) contributed seven assists, seven caroms, and three steals.
UNE shot 47 percent from the floor for the contest and limited Wentworth to just 32 percent for the game. The Black & Gold had shot 53 percent from the floor during their four-game win streak. Wentworth had a 42-33 rebounding advantage.
Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.) led the visitors with 14 points, and Ben Kizel (Short Hills, N.J.) went for 12 more. Both Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) and Sam Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) tallied six points, and combined for 19 rebounds (10 and 9, respectively) to pace the positive rebounding effort.
UNE scored the first seven of the game and held a 24-14 lead before the Leopards turned in a 9-2 stretch -- DeVaux with the last six – to narrow the gap (26-23). Moments later, however, the Nor'easters tacked on seven in-a-row to restore the 10-point cushion, and settled for a 35-28 advantage at the break.
The hosts utilized an 8-0 spurt to gain a 45-32 padding early in the 2nd, but the difference was only six (52-46) with just over 10 minutes remaining. Parker and Autry paired for 13 points down the stretch, though, to thwart any comeback attempt.
Both teams are in action on Saturday as Wentworth hosts Endicott and UNE is at Western New England.
