New England College jumped out to an early 11-6 lead, as senior forward Tim LaTorra (Windsor Locks, Conn.) scored four of the Pilgrims' first 11 points. Wentworth battled back and would take a 16-15 lead on a three-pointer from Bolton with 11:40 left. That trifecta began a 21-7 run and gave the Leopards a 34-22 lead with 3:16 left in the half. New England College would outscore the Leopards 9-4 over the remainder of the half, but trailed 38-31 at the break.
The second half saw the Pilgrims seize momentum and outscore the Leopards 17-11 over the first 8:32 . However, Wentworth stopped the bleeding with a 21-6 run and took its largest lead of the game, 70-54, on a free throw by senior forward Carmino DeMercurio (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) with 3:31 left. Despite the Pilgrims cutting the lead back to as few as eight with under a minute left, a DeMercurio dunk and six of six free throws sealed it for the Leopards.
Sophomore guard Eric Sliney (Lincoln, R.I.) led all scorers with 19 points, while freshman guard Ryan Jaziri (Norwich, Conn.) chipped in with 16.
With the win, Wentworth's sixth of the season, the Leopards eclipse their win total of each of the last three seasons. Wentworth was 5-20 during the 2001-02 season, and 5-19 in 2002-03 and 2003-04.
At Tansey Gymnasium, Boston, Mass. WENTWORTH 84, NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE 72 NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE ((9-4, 2-3 CCC)) Eric Sliney 6-17 6-6 19; Ryan Jaziri 4-14 8-8 16; Tim LaTorra 5-11 2-6 12; Vernon Wynott IV 4-4 2-3 10; Antoine Sylvia 3-5 1-2 7; Kelly Coder 2-5 0-0 4; Patrick Quinn 1-11 0-0 3; Michael Smith 0-1 0-0 0; Brian Ashline 0-1 0-0 0; Kevin Keefe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-70 20-27 72. WENTWORTH ((6-9, 4-3 CCC)) Ed Bolton 7-10 2-2 18; Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 4-6 8-9 17; Frankie Hall 5-10 4-6 14; Carmino DeMercurio 4-8 1-8 9; Jason DaCosta 3-4 2-2 9; Bryan Gaine 3-5 1-2 7; Troy Ramey 2-3 0-0 4; Robert Fernandes 1-1 0-0 2; Matt Zeszotek 1-2 0-0 2; Gil Ward 1-2 0-0 2; Morey Frydman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-53 18-29 84. New England College........... 31 41 - 72 Wentworth..................... 38 46 - 84 3-point goals-New England College 2-16 (Eric Sliney 1-5; Patrick Quinn 1-5; Tim LaTorra 0-1; Kelly Coder 0-3; Ryan Jaziri 0-2), Wentworth 4-7 (Ed Bolton 2-4; Jason DaCosta 1-1; Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 1-1; Troy Ramey 0-1). Fouled out--New England College-None, Wentworth-None. Rebounds-New England College 38 (Antoine Sylvia 7; Ryan Jaziri 7), Wentworth 40 (Ed Bolton 9). Assists-New England College 15 (Vernon Wynott IV 6), Wentworth 28 (Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 9). Total fouls-New England College 22, Wentworth 24. A-300