Men's basketball prepares for ninth NEWMAC Tournament final four, seventh-seeded Lyons to oppose number three Coast Guard in semifinals

February 28, 2008

NORTON, MA- For the ninth time in the 10-year history of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), the Wheaton College men's basketball team prepares to take part in the semifinal round of the league tournament, as the seventh-seeded Lyons will face number three United States Coast Guard Academy on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) Harrington Auditorium.

Wheaton, which is the only school in the seven-team league to qualify for as many as nine semifinal contests, sprung an upset on second seed Clark University, 78-74 on Wednesday evening. In Saturday's other semifinal, number one WPI faces fourth-seeded Babson College at 1:00 p.m. The winners meet on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. in Harrington, with the champion drawing the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The 13-11 Lyons and 19-6 Bears face each other in a rematch of a 2007 NEWMAC Tournament semifinal, which was also played at WPI. Seventh-seeded Coast Guard held off number six Wheaton, 62-60 before completing an unexpected run through the league tournament by downing the host Engineers in the final.

By virtue of being seeded seventh for the first time after going 3-9 in the league, Wheaton extended the winning streak for NEWMAC Tournament seven seeds to four games on Wednesday. The Lyons previously won twice in the semifinals to advance to the title game, including as the fifth seed in 2002. The conference tournament final four that year also occurred in Worcester, at Clark. The Blue and White has never advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Wheaton has met Coast Guard twice in the postseason, winning in 2003 during the first round.

Freshman Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) has triggered Wheaton's offense, averaging 20.2 points by turning in the second-highest point total (485) by a freshman in program history and the ninth best overall. The shooting guard hits 51.5 percent of his field goal attempts, connecting at a 48.3 percent clip from beyond the arc. His freshman-record 83 three-pointers are second in program history, and he has already turned in four 30-point games. Entering the week, Coppola ranked second among all Division III freshmen in three-point percentage and third in both scoring and treys per game.

Sophomore forward Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) has provided a balanced presence, turning in 11.7 points and 5.0 rebounds while hitting 34 three-pointers, shooting 90.9 percent at the charity stripe and blocking 20 shots. Junior forward Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) averages 7.7 points on 62.7 percent shooting while snagging 4.8 boards and blocking 31 shots despite averaging only 18.3 minutes.

Two of Coppola's classmates play major roles in guard roles, as Bobby Perry (East Providence, RI/East Providence) and Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) have shared time at the point. Sasso, the only Lyon to start all 24 games, averages 8.7 points and 2.3 assists and shoots 77.0 percent on free throw tries, while Perry turns in 5.1 points and 2.2 helpers. In his last eight games, Perry had more turnovers than assists just once.

Sophomore forward Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton North) has come on strong lately after spending the first half of the season nursing an injury. He has appeared for more than 20 minutes four times in the last six games, averaging 10.3 points on 64.0 percent shooting with 9.0 rebounds during those contests.

Wheaton's two seniors have been critical reserves. Center Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) leads the NEWMAC in free throw shooting at 87.3 percent and ranked 27th in Division III entering the week. The captain averages 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. Classmate Jake Otto (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) chips in with 3.5 points and 2.9 boards and connects on 89.5 percent of his free throw tries from his forward spot.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/28/08.
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