Wheaton's buzzer beater falls short, Lyons drop NEWMAC affair at Clark

February 23, 2008

WORCESTER, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team suffered its fourth New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) loss by four points or fewer on Saturday, as freshman Anthony Coppola's (Watertown, MA/Watertown) midcourt heave at the buzzer was off the mark, and the Lyons fell at Clark University, 92-90 in the Kneller Athletic Center.

Wheaton, which fell to Clark on January 23 on a desperation buzzer beater, completed the regular season 12-11 overall, including 3-9 in league play, and drew the seventh seed in next week's NEWMAC Tournament. In the first round, the Lyons will travel back to Clark on Wednesday to take on the number-two Cougars at 7:00 p.m. With today's win, Clark improved to 12-12 and 7-5 in its final regular season contest.

Thanks to Coppola's second three-pointer in 40 seconds, Wheaton held a 79-71 advantage with 6:58 to go in regulation before the hosts rallied to force the exciting ending. Sophomore Mark Alexander (Providence, RI/Marianapolis Prep) scored six straight points before consecutive Clark treys 26 ticks apart knotted the score and put the Cougars up three, respectively, capping a 12-1 run with 3:51 remaining.

Wheaton trailed by no more than four points during the final four minutes of the contest, and sophomore Jaxon Leo's (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) jumper knotted the score at 88 with 50 seconds left. Clark looked to lock up the game by hitting four free throws on as many tries during a late 21-second span, going up by a 92-88 count with nine seconds left, but a Coppola lay-up made it 92-90 with five ticks to go. Alexander then missed a pair of three throws with three seconds remaining, and Coppola grabbed a rebound before making it to midcourt and launching a shot that fell short.

To begin the contest, the Lyons went up 15-6 behind a 7-0 run. Coppola, who finished with 28 points, tallied 10 of Wheaton's first 18 points. Clark began chipping away, and the Cougars turned a 24-20 disadvantage with less than 9:30 before halftime into a 32-27 lead thanks to a 12-3 run over a 2:11 span. After falling behind by six, the Lyons used a 6-0 run to knot the game at 37 with 2:26 to go, and junior Kristopher Pedra's (Avon, CT/Avon) jumper right before the buzzer gave the visitors a 41-39 edge heading into the locker room. Wheaton shot 53.3 percent from the field in the opening half, going 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, while turning the ball over only four times. Meanwhile, Clark shot only 37.1 percent but went 7-of-21 from deep. Coppola's 13 points led all scorers.

The Lyons pushed their lead out to 48-41 on a pair of Coppola free throws 1:19 into the second stanza, capping a 17-4 run that carried over from the first half. Though the Cougars twice rallied to within one point, Wheaton continued to lead until Clark knotted the contest with 4:17 remaining during its big comeback.

Coppola shot 10-of-18, including 6-of-9 from three-point range, and added six boards, while sophomore Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) tallied a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 6-of-7. Leo added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, while freshman Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) tallied 14 points. First-year Bobby Perry (East Providence, RI/East Providence) tacked on seven points and six assists, and junior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) swatted three shots. The Lyons shot 50 percent from the field, including going 8-of-16 on three-point tries, while committing only seven turnovers.

Alexander led Clark with 21 points and 10 boards, while sophomore Jack Minister (Manchester, England/Proctor Academy) came off the bench to hit five threes and also contribute 21 points. Junior Peter Normandin (Westminster, MA/New Hampton School) added 14 points, and senior Pat Ochoa (Springfield, MA/Commerce) had 12. The Cougars shot 56 percent in the second half and finished the game 25-of-32 on free throws and 13-of-36 from beyond the arc.

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