Strong Second Half Propels Lyons past Gulls
Dec. 10, 2005
NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team rebounded from a low-scoring first half and exploded for 49 points in the second stanza to down Endicott College, 71-56, in a non-conference contest at Emerson Gymnasium.
The Lyons ran their win streak to five successive games to improve to 7-1. It is their best start to a season since going a perfect 8-0 in 2002-03. The two-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) champion Endicott College slipped 4-5.
This afternoon's meeting marked the first time in five seasons in which neither the road team was victorious nor the outcome was decided by two points or less.
Both teams were slow to start the game, as it took nearly six minutes for the Gulls to hit their first field goal when sophomore Todd Burton (Lynn, MA/Saint Mary's) knotted the score at 4-4 with 14:20 to play. Wheaton senior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) and Endicott sophomore Gary Corbett (Danbury, CT/Danbury) exchanged three-point baskets, followed by another trey from Gull senior Matt George (Dover, NH/Dover) to give the visitors a 10-7 edge with 9:16 to play.
Trailing by three points with 7:28 remaining, the Lyons picked up the pace and used the next five minutes to string together a 13-2 run for a 22-14 lead. Endicott responded with a quick 7-0 spurt over a 1:06 span, highlighted by a three-pointer from senior Zach Ellis (Westford, MA/Westford Academy). Both teams shot poorly in the stanza, with Wheaton hitting six field goals for 21.4 percent and Endicott making seven shots from the floor while shooting 31.8 percent. The Lyons also went 8-of-10 (.800) on free throws.
Freshman Kristopher Pedra (Avon, CT/Avon) provided Wheaton with a second-half spark, knocking down his first three shots for seven points in the first 4:08 to give the Lyons a 36-32 advantage. Endicott kept the score close and eventually grabbed its first lead in 15 minutes thanks to a pair of George freebies at the 11:22 mark. That sparked a two-minute stretch which saw four of the game's seven lead changes, with the final one swinging in favor of the hosts on a Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) lay-up with 9:10 left. DiGiovanna's basket ignited a 20-6 run for a 63-50 lead with 2:18 to go. Endicott would get no closer than 12 points, sending Wheaton to the free throw line to seal the double-digit win.
Kelly led all scorers with 16 points in addition to dishing nine assists, grabbing six steals and pulling down five rebounds. Junior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in recording 11 markers, while senior James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School) tallied 10 points with three steals. DiGiovanna added nine points and six boards, as the Lyons came back to shoot 56.0 percent in the second stanza.
George and junior Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro/Second Baptist School) recorded 15 points apiece for the Gulls, with Marinkovic grabbing a game-high nine boards and providing a team-best six helpers.
The Lyons return to action Thursday and Friday, December 29-30, in the Weenie Miller Holiday Hoops Tournament at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia while the Gulls will be off until the new year.