BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) poured in a game-high 20 points to lead a quartet of Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball players in double figures as the Leopards defeated Wheelock, 76-64, Thursday night at the Winsor School.
Wentworth runs its win streak to six games – its longest since the Black & Gold won seven straight from February 8-26, 2011 – and improves to 8-2 on the season while the Wildcats fall to 1-8 with the loss.
Wheelock scored the first five points of the game to take a 5-0 lead 1:39 into the contest, thanks to a three pointer from senior Kiwane Crowder (Milwaukee, Wisc.) and a jumper from freshman Erick Hernandez (Tampa, Fla.). A 17-0 run, capped off by a three pointer from Ganley, gave Wentworth a 17-5 lead with 10:38 remaining in the half.
The Leopards maintained a double-digit lead for the next 4:19 until Wildcat freshman Brendan Miller (Tampa, Fla.) made it a 24-15 game and again when Hernandez hit a three with 5:24 left in the half. An 8-0 run, capped off by a three-point play from sophomore Colin Mulvaney (Jenkintown, Pa.) extended the lead to 34-18 with just under three minutes remaining in the half and a pair of senior Ben Kizel (Short Hills, N.J.) free throws gave Wentworth its largest lead of the half (38-21). The Leopards, who shot 58.3 percent from the floor in the opening half, had a 39-27 lead at the break.
A 10-0 run to open the second half gave Wentworth a 49-27 lead after a Kizel jumper with 17:35 remaining. Hernandez hit two free throws to make it 53-37 just over five minutes into the half but a sophomore Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) jumper and six straight points from sophomore Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) pushed the lead to 61-37 before Mulvaney made it 63-37 with 12:28 left.
Wentworth went 3:17 without making a field goal before a trifecta from senior Sam Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) gave the visitors a 76-56 lead with 3:46 left in the contest. Wheelock used an 8-0 run to pull within a dozen, however would not get any closer.
Ganley connected on 8-of-12 shots, including going 3-for-5 from behind the arc, in his 20-point effort. He also had six rebounds. Azums finished with a double-double (16 points, 13 rebounds) and dished out three assists. Kizel added 12 points, four rebounds, and three steals while senior Cesar Fulcar (Watertown, Mass.) scored 10 points, dished out four assists, and had three steals. Vartanian and Mulvaney had eight and seven points, respectively. The Leopards dominated the glass, 52-35, and shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the win.
Wentworth is idle until January 4 when the Leopards resume Commonwealth Coast Conference play at Roger Williams.
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