Wheaton falls short of Connecticut College despite one of program's top shooting performances

December 5, 2006

NEW LONDON, CT- The Wheaton College men's basketball team knocked down an outstanding 61.5 percent of its shots en route to the third-best shooting performance in program history Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to knock off host Connecticut College as the Lyons fell, 77-74 at Luce Fieldhouse. Wheaton drops to 3-3 with the loss, while the Camels won for the third straight time to move to 5-2.

Wheaton also delivered a stellar shooting display in the opening half, draining 66.7 percent of its shots, but still found itself with a five-point deficit at the intermission, as the Camels made 63 percent of their shots. Junior Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) poured in a game-high 18 points for the Lyons, shooting 9-of-12 from the field, while classmate Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) dumped in 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

In a closely contested opening half in which neither team led by more than seven points, Wheaton and Connecticut College endured five ties. With the score knotted at 14 apiece with 14:16 to play, the Lyons used a 13-6 run over a 4:57 span to match the biggest lead of the half. Wheaton's first nine points of the run came via three-point buckets, and junior Jake Otto (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) provided the Blue and White with the final four points for a 27-20 advantage. The Camels scored the next 10 points to regain a lead, but an Otto lay-up at 1:39 had the visitors in front, 37-34. Connecticut College ended the half on an 8-0 run, as senior Gabe Patton (Lynnfield, MA/Phillips Exeter Academy) accounted for five of the eight points.

The Camels ballooned their lead to as much as 13 in the second stanza while maintaining a double-digit advantage the majority of the half. Down 68-56 with 5:27 on the clock, the Lyons countered with an 8-0 spurt as DiGiovanna and Johnston combined for all the scoring, and Wheaton eventually narrowed the gap to two at 1:21 thanks to a pair of free throws from junior David Harding (Hanover, MA/Boston College). With 54 seconds remaining, sophomore Will Lyons (Wilbraham, MA/Loomis Chafee) hit a critical three to extend the hosts' lead to five. Wheaton cut the differential to three but would get no closer, as the Camels held on for the non-league win.

Senior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) had nine points, six assists and four steals for the Lyons, while sophomore Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) added nine points and a game-high-tying five rebounds in his first collegiate start.

Junior Charles Stone (Hackensack, NJ/Hotchkiss School) finished with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting for Connecticut College. Lyons, Patton and freshman Shavar Bernier (Dover, NH/Bridgton Academy) chipped in with 11 points apiece.

Wheaton looks to break its two-game losing skid this Saturday at Endicott College. The non-conference game in Beverly is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start.

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