Men’s Hoops Drops CCC Tilt at Wentworth, 59-50

BOSTON, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene men's basketball team endured a 59-50 loss at Wentworth Saturday afternoon at Tansey Gymnasium. The Lions fall to 1-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference and 4-2 overall with the result. The victory lifts the Leopards to 4-2 on the year and 2-0 in league contests.

Max Barbosa (Dorchester, Mass.) scored a team-high 11 points and three assists for the visitors. Chima Ezeigbo (Roanoke, Va.) added seven points, four rebounds and two blocks. Brian Hard (Weymouth, Mass.) finished the game with seven points, four boards and a pair of assists while Mike McCoy (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) contributed six points.

Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) each netted six points off the bench. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) led Eastern Nazarene on the boards as he hauled in six rebounds on the day.

The Lions grabbed their first lead of the game 3:14 into the contest as Hard banked in a layup to give the visitors an early 5-4 edge.

Wentworth reclaimed the lead with 13:49 left to go in the first half, 9-7, and extended the margin to four, 11-7, with its seventh unanswered point.

At the half, the home team held a 27-21 advantage after scoring the final four points of the period and holding the Lions scoreless in the final 2:56.

Eastern Nazarene was led by Ezeigbo at the break with six points. Hard and McCoy each poured in four points through the opening 20 minutes of action.

The Leopards stretched their lead to 11 points, 32-21, as Dailon Wilson made a layup 1:14 into the second stanza.

Eastern Nazarene trimmed the deficit to three with eight minutes left to play as Ezeigbo drained a free throw.

A lay-in by Lynch with just under three minutes left to play cut the home team's lead to one, 51-50.

Wentworth scored eight straight points to close out the game en route to its second league victory.

Eastern Nazarene shot 34.5% from the floor and connected on 5-of-26 from three-point land. The Leopards finished with a field-goal percentage of 41.2% while sinking 43.8% of their attempts from beyond the arc.

Following a month-long hiatus, the Lions will return to the hardwood January 1 to host Thomas College at 1 pm.