MILTON, Mass. – Junior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) went 6-for-9 from the floor to score a game-high 19 points and haul down a game-high 15 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team defeated Curry, 59-40, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Wednesday night.
Snapping a three-game losing streak, the Leopards improve to 5-11 overall and 3-5 in CCC play while the Colonels fall to 1-16 (0-8). The win was also the Black & Gold's ninth straight in the series.
Curry used an 11-2 run to turn a tie game into a 13-2 lead after a junior Jared Thorpe-Johnson (Dorchester, Mass.) jumper with 15:01 left in the first half. During the run junior Spencer Feng (Keene, N.H.) hit a pair of three pointers. Wentworth responded and used a 12-0 run to take a 14-13 lead after a freshman Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.) layup. Bice had eight of the leopards' 12 points during the run while Azums had the other four.
After junior Dwayne Boothe (Jamaica, N.Y.) gave the Colonels a 17-16 lead with just under eight minutes remaining, the Leopards claimed the lead for good as a 14-0 run turned the deficit into a 30-17 lead after Bice converted a layup with 3:25 left. Sophomore Gavin Keough (Dunstable, Mass.) drained a pair of threes during the run while Bice added five more points. Scoring the final four points of the first half, Curry cut the lead to nine (32-23) at the break.
The teams traded the first four baskets of the second half before a Bice layup and three-point play from sophomore Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) started a 9-2 run which extended the lead to 16 with 16:03 to play. Wentworth's lead got no lower than 14 at any point in the second half as the Leopards held the Colonels to just 17 points in the stanza as the hosts shot 26.9 percent from the floor.
In addition to Azums, Bice finished with 15 points and five assists while Keough added 14 points. Senior Zach Bergeon (Litchfield, N.H.) grabbed 10 rebounds to help Wentworth own a 45-26 rebounding advantage.
Thorpe-Johnson led the Colonels with 10 points. As a team, Curry shot 30.9 percent from the floor for the game.
Wentworth hosts Salve Regina on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. At the midway point of the conference schedule, the Leopards, Seahawks, and the University of New England all sit in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings.
For the latest on Wentworth Athletics, follow the Leopards via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Wentworth Leopards "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
