BOSTON, MA -- The Leopards pounced out to an 11-0 lead out of the gate as WIT cruised to a 85-60 victory over the Lynx Saturday at Tansey Gymnasium.
John Sanchez scored a career-high 26 points for Lesley, 22 after halftime, dishing out eight assists and pulling down four rebounds in the loss.
Senior Jesus Trejo finally broke the 11-0 drought with a layup 5:21 into the contest for his only points of the game. Leopards guard Adam Dombrowski scored four points in WIT's 11-0 run and picked up right where he left off after, hitting three straight shots, including two threes, to make it a 19-7 game.
A pair of Sanchez free throws then pulled Lesley back within 10, at 19-9. The Leopards followed with a 19-0 run, outrebounding Lesley 28-13 in the first half in holding the Lynx scoreless for a span of 8:18 to go ahead 38-9, nearly putting the game away early.
With all 12 of his points in the first, Dombrowski led all scorers at halftime, at which point Lesley found itself in a 45-13 hole. Sanchez led the visitors with four points despite picking up three fouls in the period.
Sanchez picked up the scoring after the intermission in a big way, as Lesley opened up the second on a 9-2 run powered by six points from its point guard and a Bryant Itonyo three-pointer. Another Sanchez jumper gave him eight points in the first five minutes of the second and made it a 25-point game, at 49-24.
A Sanchez three-pointer and a Harold Smith fast-break lay-in cut the defict inside 20, at 51-33, still with 10:45 to play. WIT's guard Eric Prue answered with a pair of three-pointers in the next two minutes, putting his team's lead back up to 25.
Sanchez, though, threw in a three of his own at the 8:00 mark, giving him 16 points in the first 12:00 of the half. However, Prue couldn't be outdone, as he nailed another two trifectas, his fourth in fewer than 4:00, crushing hopes of a Lynx comeback.
Both Prue and Sanchez tied for game-high honors with 26 points each, the former on 7-12 shooting from three-point range and with six rebounds to boot. Sanchez was equally as stellar, hitting all 10 of his free throws, going 2-3 from distance, dishing out a game-best six assists and scooping up four boards.
Wentworth shot a scorching 51 percent from the field for the game, holding Lesley to just 37 percent shooting. The Panthers controlled the boards at a 43-28 margin, often holding the Lynx to one shot per possession in preventing a comeback.
WIT's Corey Therriault led all players with seven rebounds, while Sanchez, Itonyo and freshman Kris Bennet all pulled down four four Lesley.
At 2-5, Lesley looks to rebound on Thursday, playing host to UMass-Boston at 8:00 p.m.