Lyons return home and collect 74-63 victory over Fitchburg State

January 15, 2007

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team improved its record to 3-1 in Emerson Gymnasium thanks to a 74-63 non-conference victory over visiting Fitchburg State College Monday night. The Lyons, who matched the program's fifth-best shooting performance in a single game at 60.4 percent, improved to 8-6 on the season, while the Falcons fell to 3-10 overall.

Junior Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) provided Wheaton with a scoring boost off the bench, turning in 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in just 19 minutes. Freshman Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) and senior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively, with Zukowski adding a game-high-tying four assists.

Juniors David Harding (Hanover, MA/Boston College) and Jake Otto (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) gave the Lyons quality minutes, as Harding pulled down a career-best eight rebounds with five points and Otto reached a season-high eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. Otto also came up huge defensively, clamping down on Fitchburg State leading scorer and junior Brian Torres (North Dighton, MA/Dighton-Rehoboth Regional), who was held scoreless after recording 20 first-half points.

Tonight's opening half featured several runs, beginning with an 11-2 Wheaton spurt to start the frame, as a pair of threes from Zukowski spearheaded the Lyon run. The hosts maintained a 20-9 advantage at 12:56, but Torres single-handedly brought Fitchburg State back to one with 8:10 to go. Torres scored 10 points during the team's 12-2 run and had 17 of the Falcons' first 21 points.

Tied at 24 with less than seven remaining in the first period, Wheaton's Leo caught fire and rattled off eight straight Lyon points during a 1:56 span for a 32-24 lead. The visitors cut their deficit to three with five consecutive points, but Wheaton used an 11-2 run, capped by a Johnston dunk, to gain a 43-31 lead with 2:08 left. The Falcons scored the half's final six points, as the Lyons carried a 43-37 edge into the intermission after making 63.0 percent of their field goals and 50.0 percent of their 12 three-point attempts.

Wheaton controlled play for most of the second stanza, including scoring the period's first six points while keeping the Falcons scoreless for the first 5:43. Holding a 53-45 lead at 11:06, the Blue and White ballooned its advantage to a game-high 15 following seven straight points during a 2:10 stretch. Fitchburg State got as close as nine on five occasions, but each time the Lyons responded with points to push their advantage back to double figures, including a Harding lay-up with 1:06 to play.

Torres' 20 points led all scorers, as he shot 8-of-16 from the floor, including an 8-of-10 performance in the first half. Torres also grabbed a team-high seven boards with two blocks and two steals. Sophomore Jeff Kozik (Auburn, MA/Auburn) added 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, while sophomore Andrew Vayo (Waterville, ME/Waterville) and freshman Jarod Baronowski (Worcester, MA/Saint Peter-Marian) chipped in with 10 points apiece.

The Lyons return to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Wednesday night at Springfield College at 5:30 p.m.

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