Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. -- Wentworth Institute of Technology closed the first half of action with 13 unanswered points to break open a tight game and then held on in the second for a 56-49 victory over the University of New England in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference men's basketball contest played Thursday evening at Tansey Gymnasium.

The Leopards (11-8, 6-2 TCCC) jumped out to an 11-2 lead 4:31 into the match behind a pair of treys from sophomore Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine). UNE battled back to tie things at 15-15 on a three-pointer by junior Jordan Stinglen (South Berwick, Maine) with 8:35 to go in the half.

Up 17-16 three minutes later, Wentworth reeled off the next 13 points to gain a 30-16 cushion at the break. Senior Mike McClure (Blue Bell, Pa.) scored five points during the initial part of the stretch, before Therriault canned two more from deep to finish it off.

The hosts pushed the advantage to as many as 19 shortly after intermission, only to see UNE respond with a 9-0 spurt to reduce the deficit to ten (39-29) with 11:11 left.

A shot from deep by junior Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) made the difference 14 (47-33) with under six minutes remaining, before the visitors put together seven straight points to drop the margin into single digits at the 2:39 mark.

Twice the Nor'easters would get to within six during the final moments, but could not draw any closer. The Leopards sunk 9-of-10 from the charity stripe the rest of the way to seal the win.

Therriault was the only Wentworth player in double figures with a game-high 16 points. Dombrowski added nine, and senior Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) contributed eight and five assists. Senior Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) corralled a team-high eight boards for the Leopards, who out-rebounded their opponents, 32-23.

For UNE, Stinglen finished with 13 points and nine caroms -- the points total matching his career-high. First-year Charles Fenner (Bronx, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points, and senior Matt Thompson (Plymouth, N.H.) went for eight points and four steals.

Both teams are at home for conference games on Saturday. Wentworth entertains Anna Maria College at 3 p.m., while the Nor'easters (3-17, 1-7 TCCC) are set to play Roger Williams University (3 p.m.).