After trailing 4-2 with 17:18 left in the first half, the Fighting Scots used a 7-0 run, capped off by a basket from sophomore Jon Marstaller (Naples, Maine), to take a 9-4 lead. The Leopards would trim the lead to one, but would get no closer, as Gordon built its lead up to as much as 12 (35-25) with a little over a minute left in the half and had a 10-point (37-27) lead at the break.
After Wentworth shortened the lead to as few as eight early in the second half, Gordon used a 12-4 run to break the game open and lead by 16 with 14:23 left. A three-pointer by Kaufman would give the Fighting Scots their largest lead of the night at 60-41 before the Leopards started to chip away. Trailing by 18 (65-47) with 6:40 left, Wentworth used an 11-2 run, capped off with a basket from sophomore guard Jason DaCosta (Cambridge, Mass.), and trailed by nine (67-58) with just over three minutes left. Gordon built its lead back up to 12 on three separate occasions, but the closest Wentworth could get was within 10.
Senior guard Aaron Vogelzang (Jericho, Vt.) helped the Fighting Scots cause with 10 points of his own, while junior guard Jerry Logan (Marietta, Ga.) had six assists and five rebounds.
For Wentworth, freshman forward Weonard Bynes (Bridgeport, Conn.) led all scorers with a career-high 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting, to go along 12 rebounds (eight offensive). Sophomore guard Sherrad Prezzie-Blue (Norwalk, Conn.) added 12 points and four assists.
Combining the Leopards’ loss with the University of New England’s overtime win over New England College, and Wentworth’s playoff hopes are still alive. If Salve Regina defeats New England College on Saturday, the Leopards earn their first CCC Tournament berth since the 2000-01 season. If the Pilgrims defeat the Seahawks, the Leopards season ends.
At Boston, Mass. (Tansey Gymnasium) GORDON 74, WENTWORTH 64 GORDON (21-3, 14-1 CCC) Justin Kaufman 6-9 9-10 22; Michael Herr 6-8 5-6 21; Aaron Vogelzang 4-8 0-1 10; Jon Marstaller 4-8 0-0 8; John Beebe 1-1 4-4 7; Jerry Logan 2-4 0-0 4; M. Schnackenberg 1-1 0-0 2; Mark Beebe 0-1 0-0 0; Tim DeLuca 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-41 18-21 74. WENTWORTH (9-15, 5-11 CCC) Weonard Bynes 9-14 7-7 25; Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 5-8 2-2 12; Todd Doyle 3-9 3-4 9; Frankie Hall 3-7 2-3 8; Bryan Gaine 2-5 0-0 4; Jeff Cappa 2-3 0-0 4; Jason DaCosta 1-7 0-0 2; Brad Bryant 0-0 0-0 0; Ed Bolton 0-0 0-0 0; Rob Fernandes 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 14-16 64. Gordon........................ 37 37 - 74 Wentworth..................... 27 37 - 64 3-point goals-Gordon 8-16 (Michael Herr 4-6; Aaron Vogelzang 2-3; Justin Kaufman 1-2; John Beebe 1-1; Tim DeLuca 0-1; Jerry Logan 0-2; Jon Marstaller 0-1), Wentworth 0-4 (; Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 0-2; Todd Doyle 0-1; Jason DaCosta 0-1). Fouled out--Gordon-None, Wentworth-Frankie Hall. Rebounds-Gordon 26 (Jon Marstaller 5; Jerry Logan 5; Justin Kaufman 5), Wentworth 24 (Weonard Bynes 12). Assists-Gordon 20 (Jerry Logan 6), Wentworth 13 (Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 4). Total fouls-Gordon 15, Wentworth 17. A-300