Pride pulls away from Wheaton late in handing Lyons third straight loss

February 16, 2008

SPRINGFIELD, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team trailed by just two points midway through the second half Saturday afternoon at Springfield College before the Pride outscored the visiting Lyons, 24-12 the rest of the way en route to a 74-60 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory at Blake Arena.

Wheaton dropped its third straight game to fall to 12-9 overall and 3-7 in league play, which is good for sixth in the NEWMAC standings. Springfield won its third contest in four tries to improve to 10-12 on the season and 5-5 in the conference.

In a tight affair that witnessed eight lead changes and five ties, the teams combined for 35 fouls, including six technicals. Each of the technicals came during a 1:38 stretch of the second half, with five of them taking place at the 14:35 mark when Wheaton freshman Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) and Springfield sophomores Ryan Blackmon (Stamford, CT/Trinity Catholic) and Pat Crean (Sleepy Hollow, NY/Sleepy Hollow) were all ejected.

At the time of the altercation, the hosts held a 46-45 edge. Four straight Pride free throws made it 50-45 before a three from sophomore Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) brought Wheaton within two. The Lyons got no closer, as Springfield went on a 9-0 run during 2:08 to lead 59-48 with 7:19 to go. Freshman Chaz Burrell (Idaho Springs, CO/Clear Creek) scored the Pride's final seven points of the spurt. The Blue and White closed the gap to seven on two occasions, with the latter coming on a Leo jumper at 4:01, but Springfield scored 11 of the game's final 15 points to secure the win.

Trailing 36-35 at the intermission, Wheaton took a pair of one-point leads early in the second half, but each proved to be short-lived as the Pride knotted the score for the final time at 43-all with 16:13 remaining before taking the lead for good on a free throw from junior John Strawson (Torrington, CT/Torrington).

In the first half, the Lyons held a 9-4 lead, their largest of the game, at the 16:37 mark before giving way to a 9-0 Springfield run. Wheaton didn't lead again until 30 seconds before halftime when freshman Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) made a lay-up to cap a 9-0 stretch, which gave the visitors a 35-33 edge. The Pride knocked down a three with two ticks on the clock to retake the lead.

Sasso, who hit all three of his first-half shots, tied a season high with a team-leading 17 points. He made a trio of threes and went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Coppola also went 4-of-4 from the free throw line to finish with 14 points, while Leo had 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Wheaton made just 36.1 percent of its shots and 25.9 percent of its three-point tries, going 7-of-27 from beyond the arc.

Conversely, Springfield hit 50 percent of its field goals while attempting 14 more free throws than the Lyons. Senior Gregg Daly (Farmington, CT/Farmington) led four double-figure scorers with 18 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Classmate Jamaal Gibbs (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon) had 14 points, while Blackmon and Crean each added 12.

Wheaton will play in its final home game of the regular season on Wednesday, when the Lyons go up against first-place Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the back end of a doubleheader at 7:30 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/18/08.
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