Lyons fend off late Bear rally after holding double-digit halftime lead

December 1, 2007

BRIDGEWATER, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team held off a late rally from host Bridgewater State College Saturday afternoon before posting its fourth win in five games, as the Lyons edged the Bears, 73-69 in the Tinsley Center. Suffering its fourth straight loss, all by eight points or fewer, Bridgewater State falls to 1-4 on the young season.

Wheaton led 36-24 at the half and 46-33 with 15:23 left in regulation, but the hosts rattled off eight straight points to cut their deficit to five with less than 13 minutes to go. The Lyons responded and stretched their advantage back to double digits at 62-51 with 4:43 on the clock. The Bears again battled back, using a 9-2 run to pull within four points at 64-60.

With his team trailing 70-64 in the final minute, Bridgewater freshman Cesar Oliveira's (Taunton, MA/Taunton) three-point play cut the margin to three. After Wheaton hit just one of two free throws, the Bears scored again to make it a two-point game at 71-69 with just 17 ticks left, but Lyon sophomore Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) calmly sank two freebies with 10 seconds remaining to put the game away.

Neither team put forward good shooting performances, as Wheaton connected on just 38.1 percent of its attempts to the Bears' 36.4 clip. The Lyons misfired on 20 of their 24 shots from beyond the three-point arc, while Bridgewater State came away empty in nine attempts. Both squads did recover at the free throw line, with Wheaton making 21-of-27 shots and the Bears 21-of-28.

Freshman Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) paced the Blue and White in scoring for the fourth time this season with 15 points, while Leo rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 points. Wheaton nearly had four others reach double digits, led by freshman Ryan Sasso's (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) nine points and seven rebounds.

Senior Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover), junior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) and freshman Bud Gaffney (Berkley, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) each had eight points. Michel made 4-of-5 from the field to go with a team-best eight boards, while Gaffney pulled down six rebounds, dished out a game-best five assists and swiped a game-high five steals.

For the Bears, junior Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) registered game highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds, as the Lyons stymied Bridgewater State leading scorer Tom Cuddihy (Scituate, MA/Scituate). Averaging nearly 22 points per game, the senior guard was held to seven points on 1-of-13 shooting. Oliveira had 11 points and three steals, while sophomore Jim Torney (Braintree, MA/Braintree) posted eight points and nine boards in just 13 minutes.

Wheaton will play in its final home game until January 12 on Tuesday against non-league opponent Connecticut College. Start time in Emerson Gymnasium is 6:00 p.m., as the Lyons play in the front end of a doubleheader with the women.

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