Men improve to 6-1 behind 76-71 road victory at Roger Williams

December 6, 2007

BRISTOL, RI- The Wheaton College men's basketball team finished off its first semester of games in strong fashion Thursday evening behind a 76-71 non-conference victory over Roger Williams University. Collecting their third straight win and sixth in seven tries, the Lyons carry a 6-1 mark into the semester break, while the Hawks slipped below the .500 mark in falling to 3-4.

Strong second-half shooting from the field and free throw line helped lead Wheaton to victory, as the Lyons knocked down 54.5 percent of their field goal attempts and 92.3 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. Sophomore Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) and freshmen Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) and Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) combined for 31 of the team's 39 second-half points, going 9-of-12 from the floor and 10-of-11 on freebies.

The trio gave the visitors a jumpstart from the outset, playing a hand in their opening 10 points for a 10-1 advantage just 2:15 in. Coppola and Leo each drained a shot from long range, while Sasso knocked down a jumper and two foul shots. Wheaton maintained a nine-point edge at 14-5 with 16:23 to play, but the Hawks stormed back with a trio of three-pointers during an 11-2 run to knot the score at 16 midway through. Six lead changes and two ties ensued after that, but five straight Lyon points in the final 33 seconds snapped the half's final tie, as Wheaton took a 37-32 lead into the locker room.

Roger Williams never took the lead in the second stanza, but the hosts evened the score with seven minutes left after the Lyons had built a 12-point advantage on a Coppola trey at 15:26. The Hawks used a 21-9 run to force a 57-57 deadlock at 7:01, with junior Tucker Bashaw (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) pouring in nine points during that spurt. Three straight Sasso free throws put Wheaton back in front, but Roger Williams battled back to within 70-69 on a Bashaw three at 1:16. The Blue and White then converted on its next three possessions to pull away for good.

Wheaton, which was led by Leo's and Sasso's 15 points apiece, made half of its 16 three-point attempts to finish shooting at a 49.1 percent overall clip. Leo shot 5-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc to go along with five boards, while Sasso converted 10-of-11 freebies and handed out a game-best seven assists. Coppola had 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 17 minutes, and junior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) contributed eight points, six boards and a career-best six assists.

The Hawks were impressive from three-point territory, hitting 10-of-18 for 55.6 percent while shooting 49.0 percent overall. Junior Michael Woolley (Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale) led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 21 minutes. Bashaw had 15 points off the bench, while senior Geoff Baranger (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield) accounted for 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Lyons are away from competition for exactly three weeks, when they travel to Phoenix, Arizona, for a three-game set in as many days. Wheaton's first game in the Cactus Jam Hoop Classic is scheduled for December 27 against Carroll College of Wisconsin at 4:00 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 12/7/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News Headlines

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Upcoming Schedule

4-Dec Thu Roger Williams H 6:00pm
(Live Stats)
6-Dec Sat Bridgewater State H 3:00pm
(Live Audio)
29-Dec Mon SUNY New Paltz N 8:00pm