After the teams traded baskets during the first 2:49 of the contest and had the score knotted at 4-all, Wentworth would not trail for the remainder of the game. The Leopards led by as much as 13 during the course of the first 20 minutes, before settling for a 45-34 halftime lead. Freshman guard Todd Doyle (Mystic, Conn.) led the way with 13 points, coming on 6-for-6 shooting, while Hall had seven points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Wentworth opened up the second half with a 20-4 run over the first 10 minutes and had a commanding, 65-38 lead. However, the Pilgrims slowly crept back into the game, holding the Leopards scoreless for a span of 6:15 and cutting the lead to 11 with a 16-0 run. Sophomore guard Sherrad Prezzie-Blue (Norwalk, Conn.) nailed a three-pointer with just over five minutes left to stop the bleeding and get the lead back to 14.
After Wentworth eventually brought the lead back to 16, New England College made one last run at it, using a 14-6 run to bring the lead down to eight with 38 seconds left. However, a pair of free throws each by sophomore guards Ed Bolton (Silver Springs, Md.) and Jason DaCosta (Cambridge, Mass.) put the Leopards up by 12 and sealed the game.
Prezzie-Blue had 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Doyle and junior forward Bryan Gaine (Braintree, Mass.) each had 13 points. Doyle had five assists, while Gaine had nine rebounds.
For New England College, sophomore Kingsley Onyechi (Lowell, Mass.) led all scorers with 23 points, to go along with 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Junior guard Pat Quinn (Holbrook, N.Y.) chipped in with 18 points and four assists.
At Boston, Mass. (Tansey Gymnasium) WENTWORTH 82, NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE 73 NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE (3-2, 1-1 CCC) Kingsley Onyechi 9-16 5-7 23; Patrick Quinn 5-16 6-7 18; Antoine Sylvia 7-9 0-3 14; Bobby Montrond 4-11 6-7 14; Ryan Jaziri 1-4 1-2 4; Zach LaPan 0-0 0-0 0; Dwayne Miller 0-1 0-0 0; Ben Kanu 0-0 0-0 0; Travis Hale 0-0 0-0 0; Nick Welch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 18-26 73. WENTWORTH (5-2, 2-0 CCC) Frankie Hall 9-18 1-1 19; Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 6-13 2-2 16; Todd Doyle 6-9 1-1 13; Bryan Gaine 5-13 3-6 13; Ed Bolton 2-8 5-5 10; Jeff Cappa 2-5 0-0 5; Jason DaCosta 0-7 4-4 4; Weonard Bynes 1-3 0-0 2; Morey Frydman 0-1 0-0 0; Gil Ward 0-1 0-0 0; Brad Bryant 0-0 0-0 0; Rob Fernandes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-78 16-19 82. New England College........... 34 39 - 73 Wentworth..................... 45 37 - 82 3-point goals-New England College 3-13 (Patrick Quinn 2-9; Ryan Jaziri 1-2; Bobby Montrond 0-2), Wentworth 4-14 (Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 2-6; Jeff Cappa 1-1; Ed Bolton 1-5; Jason DaCosta 0-1; Todd Doyle 0-1). Fouled out--New England College-Dwayne Miller; Kingsley Onyechi, Wentworth-None. Rebounds-New England College 33 (Kingsley Onyechi 10), Wentworth 51 (Frankie Hall 12). Assists-New England College 14 (Dwayne Miller 5), Wentworth 21 (Frankie Hall 6). Total fouls-New England College 19, Wentworth 22. A-225