MILTON, Mass. – Senior John-Michael Fragnoli (Schenectady, N.Y.) poured in a career-high 23 points, leading visiting Wentworth to a 72-53 victory over Curry College in Tuesday night Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action. The Leopards improved to 4-4 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while the Colonels fell to 2-6 on the season and 0-3 in league action. With the win, Wentworth records its first 3-0 start in CCC play since the 2010-11 season.
The Leopards claimed their largest lead of the first period (30-12) after senior Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Mass.) drained a three-pointer with 7:50 on the clock. Curry closed out the remainder of the first half with a 15-6 run. The run was capped off with a layup by sophomore Paul Preziosi (Quincy, Mass.) with 12 seconds left, trimming the deficit to nine (36-27) heading into intermission.
The Colonels scored six of the first eight points in the second frame, pulling to within five (40-35) with 15:39 remaining in the game. That was as close as Curry would come, as Wentworth answered with a 24-8 scoring stretch to take their largest lead of the game (64-43) with 4:31 on the clock. The Leopards maintained a steady lead throughout the remaining minutes of the game, securing the 72-53 victory.
In addition to his game-high 23 points, Fragnoli also pulled down a team-high six boards. Senior Ray Bessette (Dedham, Mass.) added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists, while freshman Ben Kizel (Short Hills, N.J.) chipped in with eight points.
Sophomore James Pina (Warwick, R.I.) paced the Colonels with a team-best 12 points, six rebounds and four steals. Senior Antonio Jones (Dorchester, Mass.) scored 10 points, while freshman Matt McLean (Miami, Fla.) recorded nine points.
Wentworth visits Boston University on December 29th for a 7:00 p.m. contest, while Curry travels to Becker on December 13th for a non-conference tilt starting at 1:00 p.m.
