BOSTON, Mass. – With his layup with 2:21 remaining in the second half, junior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) became the 16th player in Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball program history to reach 1,000 career points. Entering the game, Azums needed 27 points to reach the milestone and finished with exactly that number, one short of his career high, as the Leopards fell to the University of New England, 93-80, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Wednesday night.
With the win the Nor'Easters conclude their regular season with a 7-18 overall record and a 5-11 mark in league play while the Leopards sit at 8-16 overall and 5-10 in league play entering their final regular-season contest at Nichols on Saturday.
Sophomore Alex Kravchuk (Mansfield, Conn.) led UNE with 20 points, connecting on 7-of-10 shots from the field, while seniors Daron Hoges, Jr. (West Orange, N.J.) and Ryan Beatty (Rochester, Mass.) scored 12 and 11, points respectively.
The Nor'Easters took a 19-4 lead seven and a half minutes into the contest on a Hoges, Jr., three before Azums got hot, scoring 13 of Wentworth's next 15 points as a part of a 15-4 run which brought the Leopards within four with 7:08 to play. UNE led by five (24-19) after Hoges, Jr., hit one of two free throws before senior Zach Bergeon (Litchfield, N.H.) and sophomore Gavin Keough (Dunstable, Mass.) each made field goals to trim the lead to one. After a Beatty layup, Bergeon converted a layup and sophomore Tyler Lennon (Atkinson, N.H.) hit one of two free throws to even the score at 26-all with 3:36 remaining. The Nor'Easters closed out the half outscoring the Leopards 13-7 to take a 39-33 lead at the break.
After a slow start to the second half, Azums made a layup to cut the lead to four before UNE used a 15-6 run to take a 54-41 lead when Kravchuk hit a three with 16:15 remaining. Wentworth chipped away at the deficit and trailed by six (69-63) after an Azums layup. However, the Nor'Easters answered with an 18-6 run, taking an 87-69 lead on a Kravchuk three with 5:09 remaining. The visitors had a 19-point advantage twice in the game, both times when Beatty made a pair of free throws, before the Black & Gold scored the final six points of the contest, which included Azums' 1,000th point.
In his final Tansey Gymnasium appearance, Bergeon finished with a career-high 21 points, connecting on 10-of-17 shots, while also grabbing seven rebounds. Freshman Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.) and Lennon each scored eight points, with Lennon also dishing out five assists. Azums also grabbed 13 rebounds as Wentworth had a 47-31 rebounding advantage.
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.
