Men’s Basketball’s Streak Halted by Wentworth, 84-68

BOSTON – Suffolk men's basketball saw its six-game win streak come to an end Saturday afternoon as Wentworth handed the Rams an 84-68 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) setback at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 68 | Wentworth 84
RECORDS: Suffolk (12-7, 7-5 CCC) | Wentworth (11-8, 6-6 CCC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
From a 12-all tie, Wentworth took a 17-12 lead that quickly was cut down to 17-16 after back-to-back hoops by Keenan Robertson. 

Suffolk suffered a scoring lull, which allowed the Leopards to build a double-digit distance, 26-16, with 7:46 to go before halftime. 

Aidan Sullivan sunk a highlight-reel triple as the shot clock was expiring to get the Rams offense going again. That top-10 worthy bucket from downtown was followed by a freebie from Robertson that restored the two-possession margin, 26-20, at the 5:32 mark. 

From there, Robertson would be the only player in blue-and-gold to pour in points for the rest of the first frame. The offensive hiccups from the host allowed WIT to not only regain a double figure advantage but stretch the gap to 13 when Jack Connell swished his fifth triple of the day. 

Out of the locker room the blue-and-gold had a hard time finding its grove. The Leopards capitalized and held onto a 21-point cushion, 69-48, at the midway point of the second stanza. 

Sullivan came to the rescue again as the senior captain buried a bucket from behind-the-arc to spark a little fire for Suffolk. That hoop from 3-point land ignited a 14-0 Rams run that put the Rams within seven, 69-62, with 7:16 left. 

Connell came up big for the Leopards as he converted his seventh trey of the day to restore the 10-point gap. 

Suffolk attempted to claw its way back again, however, the Leopards recorded six straight points to put the game out of reach for the Rams. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Robertson tallied 30 points on an 11-for-23 showing from the floor to go along with five rebounds and three steals. 
• Cole LeVangie notched 13 points, five caroms, one assist and one block. 
• Sullivan finished with 11 points on a 4-for-9 effort from the field that included a 3-for-6 showing from 3-point range. The floor general added three set-ups, two takeaways and one board. 
• Suffolk shot 41.1 percent (23-56) from the floor, 38.1 percent from behind-the-arc and 66.7 percent (14-21) from the charity stripe. 
• Connell had a stand-out day with a game-high 33 points. He shot 7-for-8 from 3-point land. 
• The Leopards outrebounded the Rams, 33-30. 
• Wentworth scored 44 points in the paint and had 19 points from its reserves. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Robertson recorded his third 30-point game of the year. 

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk looks to snap back Wednesday, Feb. 1 when it travels to Salve Regina for a 7:30 p.m. CCC contest.