QUINCY, Mass.- Eastern Nazarene College captured their first victory of the season after coming from behind against Commonwealth Coast Conference opponent Wentworth Institute of Technology for a 73-66 final.
The game didn't start off well for the Lions as the Leopards were able to jump out to a 17-2 lead in the early portions of the first half behind stellar guard play and swarming defense. Adam Dombrowski, a Dunstable, Massachusetts native, guided the Leopard offense, scoring 7 points and dishing 4 assists in the first half.
One of the benefactors of Dombrowski's play was junior guard Corey Therriault who also tallied 7 points in the first half.
ENC was able to battle back from the 15 point deficit as they continued to make trips to the free throw line. The Lion interior play and guard penetration saw them step to the charity stripe 17 times in the half, making 11.
Junior guard Max Barbosa and forward Chima Ezeigbo were able to guide the Lions on both sides of the court. With Ezeigbo's defensive presence in the paint the Leopards struggle to penetrate, forcing them to take jump shots.
Long rebounds led to transition opportunities for the Lions and they were able to capitalize from beyond the arch. ENC made 3 three pointers in a three minute period, a series of plays that propelled the Lions to be within 3 points at the half, 33-30.
The Leopards once again came out strong in the second half, at one point stretching their lead to 9 but the Lions kept coming. Aaron Johnson sparked the Lion second half comeback by coming off of the bench and hitting a pair of three pointers that narrowed Wentworth's lead to two points.
With just over six minutes left in regulation the Lions were able to even the score for the first time since 0-0. Off of a pair of missed Wentworth free throws Barbosa received an outlet pass, went around a CJ Gonzalez screen and slashed to the basket to lay it in, pushing the score to 57 all.
The Lions first lead of the game came at the 5:20 mark when John Cramer stepped into a mid range jumper as the shot clock was winding down. Cramer's shot went off of the glass and in for the two point advantage.
Each team traded baskets down the stretch after Therriault hit a baseline jump shot that knotted the game up at 60 with just over four minutes remaining.
After trading blows Barbosa was at the free throw line with an opportunity to put ENC ahead. After making the first, Barbosa missed the second, but Chima Egziebo cleaned up a rebound and put it back off the glass to give ENC a 68-66 lead with under two minutes remaining.
Egziebo's put back turned out to be the game winner as Wentworth was unable to capitalize offensively making it a free throw game in the final 30 seconds of play.
Barbosa led all scorers with 24 points, while accumulating a game high 7 assists. Egziebo finished with a double-double, 20 points and 11 rebounds. Leading the Leopards was Dombrowski who scored a team high 18 point and had 6 assists.
Eastern Nazarene is now 1-5 for the season with a conference record of 1-1. The Leopards fall to 4-1, 1-1 in conference play. ENC will travel to meet Lesley on the fifth of December at 8:00pm. Wentworth will host Connecticut College on December 6th at 7:30pm.