Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (7-2) Extends Win Streak to Five with Three Non-Conference Victories

The Wheaton College men's basketball team extended its win streak to five games for the first time since the 2002-03 season, when the Lyons began that campaign with eight straight victories. The Lyons defeated Connecticut College, 77-67 on Tuesday in New London and later returned home to knock off Roger Williams, 72-67 in overtime on Thursday and Bridgewater State, 94-77 on Saturday.

At Connecticut College, the Lyons quickly turned an 8-7 lead into a 14-7 advantage on the strength of back-to-back three-point baskets from sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) and junior James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School). The hosts narrowed their margin to 14-9 with 14:35 to play, but Wheaton used a 15-4 run over the next six minutes to build an impressive 29-13 lead. The Camels cut their deficit to nine on two occasions, but five straight points from Zukowski put the Lyons back into a commanding lead at the half. In the second stanza, Connecticut College outscored the Lyons, 17-6 in the first 10 minutes of play to post its first and only tie of the game, but Wheaton responded and used an 11-0 run of its own to regain its double-digit lead. Junior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) and Zukowski paced the Lyon offense with 19 and 15 points, respectively. Kelly dished out a game-best eight assists, grabbed a team-high tying seven rebounds and accounted for a game-high four steals, while Zukowski pulled down seven boards.

Versus Roger Williams, a 15-5 run midway through the half helped propel Wheaton to a 32-24 advantage at the half. After both teams traded baskets to begin the second stanza, Roger Williams drained three buckets from three-point range to bring the Hawks to 42-37 with 13:31 remaining. Leading 56-55 with five minutes left, senior Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) and Kelly combined for a quick five points for the hosts, but the Hawks drained back-to-back shots to trail 61-59 with 1:25 on the clock. After a missed Wheaton jumper, Roger Williams eventually hit a lay up with eight-tenths of a second remaining to force the overtime. Zukowski put the Lyons up early in the extra session with a lay up, but it was Greenslit that ignited Wheaton's overtime charge. Greenslit hit a three-pointer to put the hosts up 66-61 with just over three minutes to play. Stanton's five three's gave him a game-high tying 18 points to go alongside his eight rebounds. Zukowski turned in a 16-point performance and stole a career-best six passes, while Kelly recorded 12 points and 10 assists.

Against Bridgewater State, a season-best six players scored in double figures to knock off the Bears. A free throw by Bridgewater cut its deficit to one at 13-12, but the Lyons then went on a 9-0 tear to bulge their lead to 10 with 12:21 to go. Stanton later drained a three to give the hosts their biggest lead of the half at 29-16 with 8:46 remaining, but the Bears countered Wheaton's attack with 13 of the game's next 15 points, slashing the Lyon lead to two points with 5:25 on the clock. Bridgewater got as close as 35-34, but a 12-4 Wheaton run in the period's waning minutes gave the hosts a 47-38 halftime lead. Greenslit scored the Lyons' first five points to start the second half and in the process extended Wheaton's lead to 52-40. A Bridgewater trey pulled the Bears to within five at the 16:01 minute mark, but a 14-4 Wheaton run capped by a Stanton three put the visitors in a 70-55 hole. Kelly fell three rebounds shy of a triple-double with 17 points, a season-high tying 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Stanton had 15 points and six boards. Zukowski and Greenslit recorded 14 and 13 points, respectively, while freshman Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) scored 12 points with seven rebounds.

Kelly Captures NEWMAC Co-Player-of-the-Week Honors

Kelly earned New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Co-Player-of-the-Week honors for the week ending on Sunday, December 5. Kelly led the Lyons to a 2-1 week, averaging 19.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game while shooting 7-of-17 (.412) from three-point range and 22-of-24 (.917) from the free throw line. Beginning the week with a career-high 23 points at Salve Regina University, Kelly also contributed five rebounds and five assists while shooting 12-of-13 (.923) from the charity stripe in Wheaton's 89-75 loss. He followed that performance with a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists in an 80-69 home win over Emerson College and finished the week with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals in Wheaton's 89-87 overtime win at Endicott College. Kelly currently leads the NEWMAC in assists and steals per game.

Women's Basketball (2-7) Posts 1-2 Week Following Double-Digit Win over Salve Regina

The Wheaton College women's basketball team posted a 1-2 week to close out its first semester of action, as the Lyons dropped a 67-60 decision to Tufts University Monday in Emerson Gymnasium and a 61-43 setback at Salem State College on Wednesday. Wheaton finished the week on a strong note with a convincing 66-51 home victory over Salve Regina University.

Versus Tufts, Wheaton took advantage of 17 first-half Jumbo turnovers to knot the score at 21-21 with 5:33 remaining in the opening stanza. Down 25-24 with just over three minutes left in the half, sophomore Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic) and freshman Courtney Riley (Quincy, MA/Fontbonne Academy) hit back-to-back buckets for a 28-25 advantage with 2:13 to go. The Jumbos managed one more basket before the half, but sophomore Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) hit a nice runner in the lane to put Wheaton in front 30-27 heading into the break. In the second half, the Jumbos committed a mere five giveaways and tightened up their defense to snatch the lead away from the Lyons a few minutes into the stanza. That sent the Jumbos on a massive 27-6 run, which took more than half the period and sealed the victory for Tufts. McCormack and senior co-captain Kate Williams (Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel) led the way with 12 points apiece, with Williams adding a game-high eight rebounds. Riley contributed 11 points and six rebounds in the loss.

At Salem State, Wheaton struggled offensively in the first half, missing consecutive shots from the field to put the squad at an early 7-2 disadvantage. A jumper by sophomore Michelle Portilla (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis) pulled the Lyons to within two at 7-5, but the Vikings used a mini 7-2 run en route to a 14-7 lead midway through the first period. A three-pointer by Williams cut the deficit to four, but that was as close as Wheaton would get in the first half, as Salem State stretched its lead back to 10 before halftime. Williams pulled the Lyons to within nine at 35-26 in the second half, but the Vikings used an 8-0 run to effectively put the game out of reach. Williams totaled a game-high 15 points to go alongside her five rebounds and four steals, while Sorbara contributed nine points.

Against Salve Regina, senior Mary Flaherty (Mattapoisett, MA/Old Rochester) extended the hosts lead to 29-25 with her second three-point bucket of the half while a jumper from Williams capped a 10-0 run that gave the Lyons a 32-25 advantage heading into the break. Wheaton's defense kept Salve off the board for the final 4:54 of the half, but the Seahawks opened the second stanza with an easy two to cut the deficit to five points. That was as close as the visitors would get however, as the Lyons used a 9-2 run on the strength of sophomore Samara Audet's (Derry, NH/Trinity) two three's to stretch their lead to 12 with 16:24 remaining. The Seahawks narrowed their gap to nine points on two occasions, with the latter coming with 13:41 to play, but Wheaton again responded and went on a 7-0 run to lead 51-35. The Lyons finished the contest with six players scoring nine or more points, led by a season-high tying 14 points and season-best 14 rebounds from Riley. Assisting in the well-balanced attack was Flaherty with 12 points and McCormack and Audet with 10 points apiece.

Men's (4-2) and Women's (6-1) Swimming Finishes Semester against MIT and Smith

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams wrapped up their first semester of action this weekend with home meets against NEWMAC foes Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Smith College. The men dropped a hard-fought 153-132 decision to MIT on Friday in Balfour Natatorium, while the women suffered their first loss of the season at 168-119. The women responded on Saturday and equaled last year's six victory total with a 179-117 win over Smith.

Against MIT, the men's team picked up nine individual wins, including multiple-event victories by senior diver Aaron Beaulieu (Freeport, ME/Freeport), sophomore co-captain Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) and freshman Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth). Beaulieu grabbed wins in the one- and three-meter dives, while Roberts notched victories in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. Jordan's 54.09 performance in the 100-yard backstroke set a new school record, while his time in the 100-yard butterfly was good for a Wheaton win. Freshman Meg Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) set the pace for the women, grabbing two of the Lyons' three individual event wins on the night, while classmate Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) turned in the third victory in the 100-yard butterfly. Miller and Pratt also took part in a pair of relay wins in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley.

Versus Smith, Wheaton captured both relay victories in addition to recording wins in eight individual events. Sophomore Cassie Bohn (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa) was responsible for three of those wins, including finishing first in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events and 200-yard individual medley. Senior Amanda Berthelette (Milford, NH/Milford) and Pratt notched two wins apiece, with Berthelette's victories coming in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events. Pratt's wins came in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. In the relay events, Berthelette, Bohn, Pratt and senior Blake Worrall (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) combined for the win in the 200-yard medley, while Berthelette, Miller, junior Lauren Pcholinski (Old Saybrook, CT/Old Saybrook) and first-year Elizabeth McKay (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) nabbed the victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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