Lyons fall in NEWMAC opener at MIT, six-game winning streak snapped

January 9, 2008

CAMBRIDGE, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team saw its longest winning streak in more than two years end on Wednesday, as the Lyons dropped their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 81-62 in Rockwell Cage. The Blue and White fell short of winning its seventh straight contest in falling to 9-2, while the Engineers improved to 9-4 in their first league contest.

The hosts jumped out to a 16-6 lead with seven minutes gone in the first half, but a pair of Lyon freshmen helped Wheaton rally to within 33-27 with a little more than two minutes remaining before halftime. During a quick 6-2 run, first-year Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) knocked down two jumpers 31 seconds apart, and classmate Bud Gaffney's (Berkley, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) pair of free throws at 2:10 brought the Lyons within six. However, the Engineers scored the final four points to take a 37-27 advantage into the locker room, buoyed by a 5-of-9 showing from three-point range.

MIT extended its lead to 13 with 14:11 remaining in regulation, but Wheaton retaliated with nine of the next 12 points to edge within seven. Freshman Bobby Perry (East Providence, RI/East Providence) scored the final five points, including canning a three-pointer that made the score 50-43 with 11:30 to go. However, the Engineers immediately followed with eight consecutive points, and the Lyons never again trailed by fewer than 14.

For the ninth time this season, freshman Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) led Wheaton in scoring, tallying 13 while hitting two three-pointers and shooting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Senior Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) contributed nine points and seven rebounds from the bench, going 3-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 on free throw tries. Perry and Sasso added eight points apiece, while sophomore Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) tied for the team lead with seven boards. Wheaton sank 15-of-20 free throw attempts.

Junior Jimmy Bartolotta (Littleton, CO/Heritage) led MIT with 28 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, going 12-of-20 from the floor. Classmate Hamidou Soumare (Bamako, Mali/British School of Lome) added 16 points and seven rebounds, while he and freshman Daniel McCue (Hampden, ME/Hampden Academy) each shot 8-of-11 from the charity stripe. McCue and junior Billy Johnson (Everett, WA/Kamiak) finished with 11 points each, while junior Bradley Gampel (Miami, FL/Ransom Everglades) had nine assists. The Engineers shot 49.1 percent from the field and sank 23 free throws in 30 tries.

Wheaton returns home for the first time since December 4 when it hosts Tufts University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the first half of a doubleheader with the women's team.

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