Zukowski becomes 11th Wheaton men's basketball player to reach 1,000-point milestone as Lyons post 88-82 win in season opener

November 17, 2006

PLYMOUTH, NH- Senior captain Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) became the 11th Wheaton College men's basketball player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone Friday night, as his 21-point performance lifted the Lyons to an 88-82 season-opening victory over Husson College at the Cobblestone Inn Tip-Off Tournament at Plymouth State University's Foley Gymnasium.

Wheaton, which outscored the Eagles, 56-45 in the second half after trailing by five at the intermission, advanced to tomorrow afternoon's championship game against host Plymouth State at 3:00 p.m. The Panthers defeated Centenary College, 82-67 earlier this evening.

Zukowski, who entered the game with 998 career points, hit a lay-up with 7:26 remaining in the opening half to surpass the milestone. With 1,019 points, Zukowski is 10th on the program's all-time scoring list and stands just 61 points behind sixth place. He scored 10 of his 21 points from the free throw line while also collecting six rebounds.

The Lyons finished with four players in double-figure scoring, including receiving 17 points apiece from juniors Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) and Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic). Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) totaled 14 points off the bench in his collegiate debut, as the freshman forward went 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe with six boards in just 17 minutes. Johnston was 6-of-8 shooting, while DiGiovanna canned all seven of his free throw attempts while pulling down a team-best seven rebounds.

Husson had five players register double-figure totals. Senior Jason Harvey (Bucksport, ME/Bucksport) led all scorers with 23 points, while freshman Martin Cleveland (Portland, ME/Deering) added 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Senior Tyler Muzzy (Greenville, ME/Greenville), sophomore Scott Kissinger (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip) and junior Sheraud Lee (Bridgeport, CT/Kolbe Cathedral) contributed 14, 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Eagles maintained the lead most of the first half, enjoying the five-point advantage at the break. The game remained close throughout the entire second half, with six ties, five lead changes and neither team leading by more than five points until the final seconds.

Husson took a 75-70 lead with less than four minutes to play, but the Lyons went on a 12-2 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to capture an 82-77 advantage with 18 ticks on the clock. Wheaton sealed the win by making 11-of-13 free throws down the stretch.

Wheaton caught fire in the second frame, hitting 64 percent of its 25 field goal attempts and 85.7 percent of its 21 free throw tries. The Lyons finished the game making 28-of-56 shots from the field with seven three-point makes, and the Blue and White converted 25-of-30 from the charity stripe. The Eagles made 55.4 percent of their field goals and 85.7 percent of their foul shots. Wheaton held a narrow 29-25 edge on the boards.

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Upcoming Schedule

15-Nov Sat Plymouth St. Tip-Off A 7:30pm
16-Nov Sun Plymouth St. Tip-Off A TBA
18-Nov Tue Salve Regina A 7:00pm