Nico Donato led Wentworth with sixteen points
(Amesbury) Wentworth used accurate long-range shooting (nine 3’s) and tight defense (on Hans Miersma) to defeat Gordon, 72-61, in Boston on Saturday afternoon in a Commonwealth Coast Conference game.
The Leopards (3-4) have now won three straight including two in a row in the CCC.
Wentworth was a warm 9-for-19 on 3-pointers as seven different players contributed.
Gordon (2-4) did not display against WIT the inside dominance they displayed on Wednesday night at Endicott. In that memorable game, Jason Dempsey had 20 points and 14 rebounds while Hans Miersma added 23 points and 24 rebounds. All those numbers were career marks for Jason and Hans.
Wentworth denied Hans the ball as much as possible, sent help to keep him from spinning into the paint, and kept the 6-9 senior off the offensive glass. The result of the good defense was a 5-rebound, 8-point afternoon for the GC big man. WIT has held Hans under double-figures in points for three straight meetings.
Jason Dempsey had 11 rebounds and points versus Wentworth
The Scots fell behind in the first four minutes of the game and never fully recovered. WIT was able to extend its lead to ten (46-36) midway through the second half. Gordon had the deficit cut to six (54-48) but on this afternoon couldn’t generate the high-percentage inside game to get closer.
The last minute of the first half was a killer for the visitors. A successful jump shot by JohnMichael Fragnoli was followed by a block by Cam Sennick of Taylor Bajema’s layup attempt. Nico Donato then found Tim Juitt for an NBA-length three that tickled the twine as the halftime buzzer sounded. A one-point deficit turned into six points in a hurry.
Nico Donato came out on top of the Efficiency chart at 21 with sixteen points, four assists, and four rebounds.
Freshman Cesar Fulcar had an excellent second half getting ten points with two assists and two steals.
Worrisome to me was Gordon’s eighteen turnovers against a defense that wasn’t pressing full-court. Too many players making mistakes in the offensive end. That better improve fast because GC’s next opponent is Nichols (Tuesday night – 7:30PM) which had seventeen steals in a four-point win over Salve Regina today.
I saw two of WIT’s freshmen, Cesar Fulcar (Watertown) and Sam Knollmeyer (Winnacunnet – Hampton NH), play last year.
Sam Knollmeyer (11)
Cesar Fulcar (3) and Ryan Roach in D3 semi-finals
The video from the Wentworth website was excellent.
Efficiency:
Nico Donato 21
Jason Dempsey 20 (11 points/11 rebounds/3 assists)
Cesar Fulcar 15
Ray Bessette 14
Wentworth 78
Gordon 65
Writing Scots 