TCCC Rookie of the Quentin Thompson scored eight of his 13 points after halftime to help UNE pull away
Box Score
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The top-seeded University of New England Nor'easters went on a 17-4 run in the second half to break open a close game and advance in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament with a 75-59 quarterfinal-round victory over No. 8 Western New England College before a season-high crowd of 601 Tuesday evening at the Campus Center.
The 22-4 Nor'easters advance to the semifinals and will face No. 4 Salve Regina University -- a 102-99 double-overtime winner over Nichols College. WNEC ends its season at 9-16.
Leading 38-35 with 17:53 remaining, UNE scored 17 of the next 21 points to assume control. The Nor'easters made three 3-pointers during the spurt, which culminated with a Ryan Knotek (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) bucket to give the hosts a 55-39 advantage with 11:45 on the clock.
UNE would maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the way and claimed its largest lead (72-51) on a layup by Chas Rentrope (Peoria, Ariz.) with 2:47 remaining.
First-year Quentin Thompson (Austin, Texas) led four Nor'easters in double figures with 13 points to go with five assists. Classmate Anthony Johnson (Austin, Texas) and senior Johnnie Jefferson (Dallas, Texas) scored 11 points apiece, and senior Steve Belmonte (Levittown, N.Y.) chipped in 10.
Sophomore forward Brad Thomka (Springfield, Mass.) had a game-high 17 points and seven rebounds to pace the Golden Bears. Junior guard Rick Johnson (Springfield, Mass.) scored 15 and handed out five assists, while senior guard Matt Maynard (Paterson, N.J.) added 10 points. Senior forward Kyle Fredette (Wallingford, Vt.) grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds -- 11 in the first half.
The Nor'easters' trapping defense forced 24 WNEC turnovers, leading to 20 UNE points. The winners distributed the ball well on offense, recording 20 assists on 28 field goals.
The first half was tight throughout with seven ties and five lead changes. The Nor'easters ended the half with a 9-3 run to take a 36-29 cushion into the break. UNE shot just 11.8 percent (2 of 17) from three-point land in the frame and 35.1 percent (13 of 37) overall.
Thursday's semifinal versus Salve Regina will be available live on the Web at http://athletics.une.edu/stream.asx
