UNE got off to a flying start, holding the Leopards to without a point for the first 3:51 and eventually racing out to a 15-6 lead with 14:21 remaining in the half. During the opening stretch, sophomore forward Isaac Stickney (Rumford, N.Y.) scored six of his team’s 15 points.
After Wentworth had cut the lead to six, The Nor’Easters used a 10-4 run, keyed by a Stickney three-pointer, and led 27-15 with 4:39 left. However, the Leopards used a 13-3 run to close the half, as Prezzie-Blue and classmate Jason DaCosta (Cambridge, Mass.) each had five points, resulting in a 30-28 UNE lead.
The Nor’Easters built their lead up to four within the first 2:25 of the half, before a 10-2 Wentworth run, capped off by a senior forward Frankie Hall (Boston, Mass.) layup, gave the Leopards the lead for the first time. A three-pointer by Prezzie-Blue have Wentworth a 40-36 lead before senior guard Mark Regis (Monroe, N.H.) buried a three to trim the lead to one. DaCosta hit a layup on the next possession to give Wetnworth 42-39 lead, but Regis connected from long range again to knot the game at 42-all with 11:43 left.
The Leopards would lead by as much as five with under 10:00 left before UNE would tie the game at 47-all. It would mark the first of four ties over the next 5:57, with the last being 56-all with 4:03 left. Prezzie-Blue hit a jumper off the fast break to give Wentworth a 58-56 lead and Hall would hit a pair of free throws with 2:54 left to go up four.
With 2:27 left, junior forward Nick Farynaz (Gray, Maine) hit two free throws to cut the lead to two (60-58). Hall would hit one of two free throws to give Wentworth a 61-58 lead with 1:51 left. On the ensuing possession, senior guard Matt McManus (Cumberland, R.I.) hit a layup to trim the lead to 61-60 with 1:20 left.
The Leopards had possession with under a minute to go, but a turnover by freshman guard Todd Doyle (Mystic, Conn.) led to a fast break layup by senior guard Mark Oliver (Gloucester, Mass.) and a Nor’Easter lead of 62-61. Doyle, who committed a foul on the play, grabbed the rebound of Oliver’s missed free throw and fed Prezzie-Blue, who laid the ball in with 36 seconds left.
UNE had possession and called time out with 13 seconds left to set up a winning play. However, Oliver turned the ball over to sophomore guard Ed Bolton (Silver Springs, Md.) and the Leopards held on for the win.
Hall and DaCosta each had 11 for the Leopards, who improve to 9-8 overall and 5-4 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play. For UNE, which falls to 6-11 (2-7), McManus had 16 points and three assists, while Stickney had 13 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
At Boston, Mass. (Tansey Gymnasium) WENTWORTH 63, UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 62 UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND (6-11, 2-7 CCC) Matt McManus 6-9 2-2 16; Isaac Stickney 5-9 2-4 13; Mark Regis 3-6 0-0 8; John Marriott 1-7 4-5 6; Nick Farynaz 1-5 3-3 5; Kenny Poulin 2-3 0-0 4; Mark Oliver 2-5 0-2 4; Tom Button 2-2 0-0 4; Joe Selmer 1-2 0-0 2; Mike Warner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 11-16 62. WENTWORTH (9-8, 5-4 CCC) Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 10-15 2-2 25; Frankie Hall 3-8 5-6 11; Jason DaCosta 5-12 0-0 11; Ed Bolton 2-7 1-4 6; Bryan Gaine 1-5 2-2 4; Todd Doyle 0-9 3-4 3; Brad Bryant 1-1 0-0 2; Weonard Bynes 0-1 1-2 1; Vin Milano 0-0 0-0 0; Jeff Cappa 0-0 0-0 0; Gil Ward 0-2 0-0 0; Rob Fernandes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-60 14-20 63. University of New England..... 30 32 - 62 Wentworth..................... 28 35 - 63 3-point goals-University of New England 5-16 (Matt McManus 2-5; Mark Regis 2-4; Isaac Stickney 1-3; Nick Farynaz 0-3; John Marriott 0-1), Wentworth 5-17 (Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 3-6; Jason DaCosta 1-1; Ed Bolton 1-5; Todd Doyle 0-5). Fouled out--University of New England-None, Wentworth-None. Rebounds-University of New England 35 (Isaac Stickney 8), Wentworth 32 (Bryan Gaine 7). Assists-University of New England 17 (Mark Oliver 5), Wentworth 17 (Frankie Hall 3; Brad Bryant 3). Total fouls-University of New England 19, Wentworth 20. A-130