Wentworth Rallies Past Western New England in Overtime, 67-64

Pettway scores team-high 23 points, Tavitian posts 2^nd career double-double

BOSTON, Mass. (February 13, 2018) – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team rallied past Western New England University in overtime, 67-64, on Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Tansey Gymnasium. 

Top Performers
• Junior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears with a team-high 23 points to go with five rebounds, five assists and one steal. Pettway shot 10-of-17 from the field, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-for-2 from the free throw line.
• Freshman forward Zach Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) posted his second career double-double with 15 points, 13 boards, three assists and two steals, while classmate EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) contributed 14 points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes off the bench.

• Senior forward Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) powered the Leopards with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field, 4-of-5 from three-point distance, and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Ganley also recorded four rebounds, three assists and two steals.  
• Senior guard Cesar Fulcar (Watertown, Mass.) finished with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Game Review
Western New England scored the first four points of overtime and led 64-60 after Pettway's third straight basket with 1:38 remaining in the extra period.

The Golden Bears were held scoreless the rest of the way, however, as Wentworth scored the final seven points of the contest. After a layup by sophomore forward Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) with 1:24 on the clock made it a two-point game (64-62), senior Michael Boaheng (Worcester, Mass.) sank two free throws 24 seconds later to tie the score.

Ganley then completed a three-point play with 19 seconds left to account for the final margin, as Western New England's three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.

The Golden Bears had led by as much as 13 (40-27) after posting a 14-1 run over the first 5:34 of the second half. Wentworth closed the gap to four (43-39) at the conclusion of a 9-0 run at the 12:01 mark, before pulling even (44-44) on a Ben Kizel (Short Hills, N.J.) triple midway through the frame.

With Western New England trailing by two (56-54) late in regulation, Pettway got to the rim for a layup to send the contest to overtime.

The Leopards held their largest lead (21-16) following a layup by Ganley with 6:13 left in the first half. Day scored seven of his 14 points over the final five minutes of play to help the Golden Bears tie the score at 26-26 heading into the break.

Notes
• Western New England shot just 33.8 percent (24-of-71) from the field, including 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from three-point range.
• The Golden Bears turned the ball over just ten times, marking the fourth straight game and tenth time overall this season that they have committed ten or fewer turnovers.
• Following his 23-point, five-rebound, five-assist effort, Pettway has now posted four 20+ point, 5+ assist, 5+ rebound performances this season.

Up Next
Western New England (10-14, 6-11 CCC) returns home to host the University of New England in its regular season finale on Saturday, while Wentworth (14-10, 9-8 CCC) travels to Nichols.