NEWPORT, R.I. – Senior Tyler Benjamin (Fitchburg, Mass.) scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half as the Salve Regina University men's basketball team rallied to defeat Wentworth Institute of Technology, 68-63, to close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon.

With the win the Seahawks improve to 12-13 overall while the Leopards fall to 15-10. Both squads finished Commonwealth Coast Conference play with identical 8-8 records, good for fourth place, however, Salve Regina takes the tiebreaker after holding a 1-1 record against top-seeded Endicott.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

LEADING SCORERS:  Kyle Henseler, 18; Kevin Fernandez, 13; Trey Carrier, 11
LEADING REBOUNDER:  Stephen Azums, 11; Trey Carrier, 8
ASSIST LEADERS:  Kyle Henseler 3, Trey Carrier 3

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After an opening sequence of three lead changes, Wentworth erased an 8-6 deficit with back-to-back three pointers from junior Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) and sophomore Kevin Fernandez (Lawrence, Mass.). Salve Regina junior Kevin Kelly (Valhalla, N.Y.) cut the lead in half before the Leopards used a 6-0 spurt to take an 18-10 lead after junior Gavin Keough (Dunstable, Mass.) hit two from the charity stripe with 9:53 left.
• The Leopards built their lead to as many as on two occasions late in the first half. The first came when Keough hit two free throws with 3:06 left and the second just over a minute later on a jumper from Fernandez.
• Over the first 20 minutes, Wentworth held the hosts to just 24 percent shooting from the floor.
• Kelly trimmed the lead to 11 to open the second half before consecutive baskets from juniors Tyler Lennon (Atkinson, N.H.) and Trey Carrier (Wilton, N.H.) pushed the lead to 15 with 18:37 left in the contest. Using a 15-2 run, the Seahawks cut the lead to two after sophomore forward Mikey Spencer (Abington, Mass.) hit a three in transition. Henseler ended the run with a jumper at the other end and Wentworth led by five (43-38) with 12:30 left after one of two free throws from sophomore Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.).
• A 16-5 run over the next five minutes gave the Seahawks a 54-48 edge after Kelly hit a jumper with 7:20 left. Fernandez hit a jumper and one of two free throws from Henseler cut the lead in half, but the hosts built their lead to 10 after a layup from Spencer with 1:23 left.
• In addition to Benjamin's 21 points, Spencer had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while junior Cameron Collins (Oakdale, Conn.) had 17 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.
• Henseler led the Leopards with 18 points, while Fernandez (13) and Carrier (11) were also in double figures. Senior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today marked the 66th all-time meeting between the two programs with Salve Regina holding a 64-62 series advantage. The teams split the season series with each winning on its home court.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth heads back to Newport on Tuesday to face the Seahawks in an opening round game of the 2020 CCC Tournament. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

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