The Nor'easters continued their high-flying ways and never trailed in a win over Wentworth
Box Score
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England Nor'easters shot 63 percent in the first half to open up a 44-29 lead on their way to a 70-58 The Commonwealth Coast Conference men's basketball win over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Wednesday evening at the Campus Center.
The Nor'easters (17-3, 8-0 TCCC) extended their school-record win streak to 16 games, while the Leopards (8-12, 5-3) suffered their first setback in five outings.
UNE came out red-hot to start the contest, knocking down nine of its first 10 field goal attempts. A one-handed fastbreak dunk by senior Johnnie Jefferson (Dallas, Texas) capped the torrid start and gave the hosts a 21-12 lead 6:38 in.
Wentworth would respond by scoring six consecutive points -- five by senior guard Todd Doyle (Mystic, Conn.) -- to close within three at 21-18.
The Nor'easters answered back with a 7-0 run to once again assume control. First-year guard Anthony Johnson (Austin, Texas) had a three-pointer and back-to-back layups to account for the spurt.
UNE would go on to outscore the Leopards 16-11 over the remaining 9:13 to take a 44-29 advantage into intermission.
The Nor'easters made 19 of 30 (63.3 percent) of their shots from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while canning 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Wentworth would get no closer than the final margin of 12 in the second frame, with the Nor'easters taking their largest lead (64-40) of the night on a three-pointer by first-year guard Victor Oruonyehu (Austin, Texas) with 6:03 on the clock.
Jefferson finished with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting to pace the Nor'easters. Senior point guard Jaykyri Simpson (East Cleburne, Texas) had 13 points, while Johnson added 10 points and a team-high five rebounds.
Doyle tossed in a game-high 16 points and handed out five assists for the Leopards. Junior forward Matt Abbott (Falmouth, Mass.) used a 6-for-7 performance from the field to add 14 points.
Both teams return to action with home games Saturday. Wentworth entertains Anna Maria College at 3:00 p.m., and the Nor'easters face Roger Williams University at that same time.
