Coppola's double-double propels Wheaton to win at Cactus Jam Hoop Classic

December 28, 2007

PHOENIX, AZ- Freshman Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) tallied season highs of 25 points and nine boards, leading the Wheaton College men's basketball team to an 83-71 victory over Kean University during the Cactus Jam Hoop Classic Friday night at Phoenix College.

After travel complications left the team stranded in Boston through the first day of the tournament on Thursday, the Lyons finish play in the eight-team field tomorrow against Pacific Lutheran University at 12:00 p.m. Looking to win its fifth game in a row, Wheaton is 7-1 for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Kean saw its record slip to 3-7.

The Lyons had four starters turn in double-figure scoring, shooting a combined 63.6 percent. Coppola went 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point territory. Sophomore Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) made 4-of-7 shots from the field and all five free throw attempts for 15 points. Freshman Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting with four assists, while junior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) posted his first career double-double with 10 points, a career-best 10 boards and four blocks.

Wheaton had an all-around impressive shooting performance, knocking down 54.0 percent of its field goals, 60.0 percent of its three-pointers and 83.3 percent of its free throws. Defensively, the Lyons held the Cougars to 39.7 percent shooting from the field and just 29.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Blue and White also outrebounded Kean, 40-31.

Following seven first-half lead changes and seven ties, Wheaton pushed its second-half advantage out to as many as 12. The Cougars trimmed their deficit to three on three occasions through the first seven minutes of the second frame, but an 8-0 spurt over 3:12 made it 64-53 in favor of the Lyons with 9:25 left. Michel was key in that stretch with four points, three rebounds and one block. The Cougars tallied five straight to get as close as six before back-to-back Coppola threes 18 seconds apart brought the game back to a double-digit margin.

Freshman Akinwande Oshodi (Florence, NJ/Florence) paced Kean with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and six rebounds. Classmate Derrick McCord (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) had 13 points, while first-year Keith Williams (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) added 12.

Despite the possibility of going undefeated in the tournament, Wheaton can only finish as high as fourth, as Thursday's cancellation put the Lyons in the consolation bracket.

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