Lyons drop contest with local foe Bridgewater State, 88-77

December 2, 2006

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team dropped a non-conference contest with local rival Bridgewater State College, 88-77 on Saturday at Emerson Gymnasium. The Lyons fell to 3-2, losing at home by more than nine points for just the second time since February 2003, while the Bears improved to 4-1.

Bridgewater State used hot shooting to turn an early 4-3 deficit into a 22-10 lead at 12:22, as the Bears hit eight of their first 10 shots, including all three attempts from beyond the arc. Despite committing only one turnover by that time, the Lyons were only 4-of-17 from the field.

Wheaton still trailed, 27-15 with 7:42 remaining in the opening half before scoring 15 of the game's next 17 points to take a 30-29 edge. Junior Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) played a hand in 11 of them, dropping in three buckets while assisting on two others. However, senior Adam Rose (Harwich, MA/Harwich) broke a 37-all deadlock on a basket with 27 seconds to go and gave the Bears a 39-37 halftime edge. Prior to missing a shot with three ticks remaining, the Lyons hit nine consecutive shots toward the end of the half and ended up shooting 45.7 percent by going 16-of-35. The Bears were 16-of-29 and canned 5-of-11 three-point tries.

Bridgewater State led, 47-41 less than three minutes into the second half before Wheaton freshman Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) canned consecutive three-pointers, and senior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) put the Lyons on top, 49-47 at 16:04 on a driving lay-up. Zukowski later knocked down a three to give the Lyons a 68-66 edge with 6:01 to go.

The second half eventually featured four ties and 10 lead changes, none bigger than the Bears' game-changing 11-0 run that gave them a 77-68 advantage at 3:37, and the lead for good, behind scoring from four different players. Zukowski cut Wheaton's deficit to 79-73 on a three with 1:28 left, but Bridgewater State went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe during the final 68 seconds to salt away the victory.

For the fourth time this season, Zukowski was the team's high scorer, as the guard tallied 17 points while nailing a trio of three-pointers. He added a game-high six assists while moving into sixth in program history with 1,097 career points. Johnston added 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with five helpers and a game-high four steals. Leo contributed 14 points, thanks mainly to four three-pointers, while sophomore Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) added career highs of 11 points and six rebounds. Junior Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) snagged 10 boards.

Junior Tom Cuddihy (Scituate, MA/Scituate) of Bridgewater State was the game's high scorer, tallying 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-8 showing from beyond the arc. Rose knocked down three threes on his way to 23 points while adding a team-high five helpers. Senior Derek Thompson (Hyannis, MA/Barnstable) notched a double-double thanks to 18 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) added 11 points and six boards. As a team, the Bears shot 58.5 percent, bolstered by a 10-of-20 performance from three-point land, while hitting 16-of-22 free throw attempts after entering the game shooting 59.1 percent from the line.

The Lyons embark on a six-game road swing that stretches into the 2007 calendar year when they travel to Connecticut College on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. contest.

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