Lyons rally late before falling at NEWMAC foe Clark, 75-71

February 3, 2007

WORCESTER, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team used a big second-half run to erase a double-digit deficit before narrowly falling to homestanding Clark University, 75-71 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday in Kneller Athletic Center. The Lyons fell to 10-10 overall and 3-6, while the Cougars moved to 8-11 and 2-6.

In an opening half that featured seven lead changes and six ties, Clark drew the largest advantage at 23-16 with 7:39 remaining, as freshman Reed Powell's (Worcester, MA/University Park) lay-up capped an 8-2 run. Wheaton responded with the next five points and eventually had seven straight points come from the charity stripe before tying the game at 29 with 2:46 to go on junior Brent DiGiovanna's (Hanover, MA/Hanover) second consecutive hoop.

The Lyons led, 34-32 on freshman Jon Lecznar's (Poland, ME/Poland Regional) jumper at 1:41, but the Cougars nailed a pair of three-pointers late in the half, including junior Pat Landers' (Worcester, MA/Saint John's) buzzer beater from midcourt, to take a 38-34 edge at intermission.

Clark continued to build its lead in the second stanza, as the Cougars' rally from down two late in the first half turned into a 16-4 run that freshman Mark Alexander (Providence, RI/Marianapolis Prep) capped with a jumper at 15:58.

The hosts led, 48-38, but the Lyons scored 23 of the game's next 29 points over a 6:31 stretch to turn the game around. Junior Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) tallied nine points during that time, while Zukowski had four points and three assists to put Wheaton up, 61-54.

In another turn during a back-and-forth game, the Cougars responded by hitting 4-of-5 three-point attempts during a 14-2 run that pushed them out in front, 68-63 with 3:46 to go. Freshman Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) buried a long-range shot to bring Wheaton within 69-68 at 2:44, and Johnston hit a jumper to make it 71-70 at 1:39, but the Lyons came no closer down the stretch, as Clark scored its final seven points from the line.

Johnston notched a game-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting with three steals in 23 minutes, while Stehle had 12 points and seven rebounds. DiGiovanna went 5-of-7 for 10 points, and Zukowski had nine points and seven assists. Wheaton shot 56.8 percent and knocked down 17-of-23 free throw tries.

Junior Godfrey Duncan (Dorchester, MA/South Boston) paced Clark with 15 points off the bench, as he canned three threes, while Alexander finished with 14 points. Landers tacked on 10 points and eight boards as a reserve, and Powell added 10 points. The Cougars, who knocked down 11 three-pointers, scored only four two-point shots in the second half while hitting six threes and 11 free throws.

The Lyons continue NEWMAC play on Wednesday when they host Babson College in the second half of a men's and women's doubleheader in Emerson Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

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