Box Score

MILTON, Mass. -- The third-seeded Curry College men's basketball team withstood a furious comeback bid by sixth-seeded University of New England to advance with a 79-73 victory in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship quarterfinal-round game Tuesday evening.

Trailing by 20 (47-27) at halftime, the Nor'easters came roaring back and eventually closed to within one (71-70) at the 1:37 mark. Curry would get a pair of layups and two free throws in the final 27 seconds to secure the win.

Mark Mastrullo led five Curry players in double figures with 17 points. Philippe Jourdain, Chris Bonadies and Michael Worrick scored 14 apiece, while Jarrell Jackson added 10, six assists and six steals.

Anthony Johnson scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to pace the Nor'easters. Marcus Winn canned four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Quentin Thompson posted a double-double with 12 points and a career-best 15 rebounds.

The Nor'easters started the second half on a 12-1 run to cut into their 20-point halftime deficit. Four different players scored during the outburst, which culminated with a Ryan Knotek layup at the 17:39 mark.

Play went back-and-forth over the next 12 minutes with Curry still holding a nine-point lead (67-58) after a Bonadies' conversion down low with 5:41 on the clock. 

A layup by Thompson and a three-ball by Johnson got the Nor'easters to within four at 67-63, but Jourdain scored in the paint on Curry's next possession to make the lead 69-63.

After Johnson made 1 of 2 at the line for UNE, Bonadies responded with a layup to give the Colonels a 71-64 cushion with 2:34 remaining. Winn and Thompson then drilled back-to-back treys close the gap to one (71-70), but the Nor'easters were unable to get over the hump.

Mastrullo had a bucket and two free throws in the final 27 seconds to help Curry come up with the victory.

For the game, the Colonels scored 44 points in the paint, leading to 59.3 percent (32 of 54) field goal accuracy. They also made more than half (7-for-13) of their three-point attempts.

The Nor'easters (11-14) shot 54.8 percent (17 of 31) in the second frame to recover from a 25.8 percent (8 of 31) showing in the first half.

Curry (14-12) advances to face No. 2 Wentworth Institute of Technology, an 84-82 winner over Western New England College.