CHESTNUT HILL, MA - The Wheelock College men's basketball team shot 15-for-18 on free-throw tries in overtime, and the Wildcats pulled away from Wentworth Institute of Technology for an 87-80 victory in the season opener for both squads on Monday at Pine Manor College's Brunelli Court.
In the second meeting between the schools, the fourth-year Wheelock team set a school record for free throws, going 40-for-49 at the charity stripe. Junior Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) was 13-for-15 on freebie tries, including 9-of-10 in overtime, en route to scoring 23 points, while classmate Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) also tallied 23 points, a career high, to go along with four steals. Senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) recorded a double-double behind 12 points and 11 rebounds, as he shot 12-of-14 on free-throw attempts to account for all of his points. Juniors Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) and Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) added nine points apiece.
Wentworth sophomore Corey Therriault (Auburn, ME/Edward Little) doubled his previous career high, dropping 32 points behind a 9-for-14 effort from three-point range, coming within one three of matching a school record. Senior Sam Herrick (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) also turned in a career-high point total during a double-double performance of 21 points and 14 boards. The Leopards shot 11-of-25 from deep.
Herrick's free throw 32 seconds into overtime gave Wentworth its only lead of the game, 71-70, and helped his team completely erase a 16-point advantage by the hosts. However, Rice responded with a jumper 15 seconds later to give Wheelock the lead for good. Therriault's three at 3:04 brought his team within 75-74, and a Herrick freebie with 43 ticks left made it 78-76, but the Wildcats shot 9-for-10 at the charity stripe during the final 37.5 seconds to pull away.
Wheelock built upon a 37-27 halftime advantage by twice grabbing a 16-point lead during the opening 5:31 of the second half, including when a pair of Rice free throws made the score 51-35. Main drained two more freebies at 11:37 to provide a 58-43 advantage, but three threes from Therriault triggered a 13-0 Leopard run during a 3:13 stretch that made it a two-point game.
An ensuing 10-0 run during a span of 1:54 provided Wheelock with a 68-56 lead, and Main canned two free throws at 3:41 to keep the margin at 12. However, Therriault scored 10 of his team's points during a 12-0 run over the final 3:18, including making the tying free throw with 31.8 seconds left before overtime. Wheelock inbounded under the visitors' basket with 4.1 seconds remaining in a tie game, but a Leopard picked off the pass and narrowly missed a desperation heave from midcourt at the horn.
The hosts hit their first four attempts to open the game, eventually leading by an 18-6 count after 6:33 of action when senior Patsy DiNuzzo (Beaver, PA/Beaver) knocked down a three. Herrick's bucket at 6:02 drew the Leopards within 23-18, but Wheelock led by double figures for much of the remainder of the stanza, and DiNuzzo canned another long-range shot with less than 10 seconds to go to provide the hosts a 10-point halftime lead.
The Wildcats next head to Purchase, N.Y., for Manhattanville College's two-day Castle Classic this weekend, as Wheelock begins play when it faces the host on Friday at 8 p.m. Plattsburgh State University, a 2010 NCAA Tournament qualifier that is ranked 22nd in the D3hoops.com preseason national poll, and Western Connecticut State University, which is receiving national votes, are also competing in the tournament.