BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.) came off the bench to score 17 points, leading three players in double figures in scoring while, defensively, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team (12-6, 5-4 Commonwealth Coast Conference) held Nichols (11-7, 6-3) to just 29.3 percent shooting from the floor as the Leopards cruised to a 76-53 win over the Bison Saturday afternoon.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

LEADING SCORERS:  Noah Bice, 17; Stephen Azums, 14; Kevin Fernandez, 12
LEADING REBOUNDERS:  Stephen Azums, 15; Kevin Fernandez, 9
ASSIST LEADERS:  Kevin Fernandez, 2; Kyle Henseler, 2; Noah Bice, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth led wire-to-wire as the Leopards snapped a three-game losing skid and avenged an early-season loss to the Bison. The Leopards used a 13-2 run to open the game after Bice hit a three pointer with 14:54 left and extended their lead to 32-4 after junior Trey Carrier (Wilton, N.H.) hit a jumper nearly seven and a half minutes later.
• The Leopards held a lead of 24 or greater for the majority of the remainder of the opening frame and took their largest lead of the half when sophomore Kevin Fernandez (Lawrence, Mass.) hit a jumper with 12 seconds remaining to give the hosts a 29-point (45-16) margin.
• Wentworth dominated the first half, not only on the scoreboard (45-18), but also in the stat sheet as the Black & Gold shot 17-for-30 (56.7 percent) from the floor, held Nichols to 20 percent shooting from the floor (5-for-25), had a 24-12 rebounding margin, and turned nine Bison turnovers into 11 points.
• The second half saw Wentworth push its lead to 32 on a pair of occasions early in the second half, including on a layup from freshman Jack Schaake (Hampton, N.H.) which made it 54-22 with 13:49 left. A pair of free throws from senior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) with 10:13 remaining gave the Black & Gold their largest lead of the game at 62-29.
• While Nichols outscored the Leopards, 20-5, over the next 7:20 to trim the lead to 18 with 2:55 remaining, Bice hit a three pointer and junior Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) hit three of four free throws to halt any hopes the Bison had of completing a comeback.
• Bice was 6-of-11 from the floor, which included going 3-for-6 from behind the arc and also had a pair of assists. Azums went 5-for-7 from the floor, scoring 14 points and grabbing 15 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. He also recorded a pair of blocks and three steals. Fernandez finished with nine points, nine rebounds, and two assists.
• Wentworth had a 49-31 rebounding advantage for the game.
• Sophomore Jack Cowan (Bedford, Mass.) was the lone Nichols player in double figures as he finished the game with 13 points.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today marked the 50th all-time meeting between the two programs with Wentworth snapping a six-game series losing streak and picking up its first series win since January 21, 2017. Nichols leads the all-time series, 28-22.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is at the University of New England on Tuesday evening.

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