BOSTON, MA- Junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) became the 12th player in Wheaton College men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, but the Lyons dropped their season opener at Emerson College, 59-56 on Tuesday night in Brown-Plofker Gym when a last-second, game-tying three-point attempt was off the mark.

Coppola got to the milestone in his 52nd career game, shooting 6-of-14 from the floor and 4-for-4 on free throws with three steals. The last Wheaton player to tally his 1,000th point was Brian Zukowski '07, exactly three years ago to the day. Sophomore Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI/Bishop Hendricken) tacked on a career-high 17 points, going 6-of-11 from the field and hitting 4-of-5 freebie tries. Senior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) hauled down 10 rebounds. Wheaton forced the hosts into 27 turnovers, collecting 11 steals.

Senior Bryan Rouse (East Greenwich, RI/Toll Gate) led the Lions with 20 points, sophomore Andrew Venter (Boston, MA/Mansfield) shot 6-of-8 for 17 points, and classmate Nathan Firn (Wadesboro, NC/Joseph A. Foran) tallied 10 points.

A three-pointer by Coppola with 54 seconds left brought the visitors within 57-54 and pushed him beyond the 1,000-point threshold, and Degnan countered two Emerson free throws with a lay-up at the 44-tick mark. After grabbing a defensive board with eight seconds left, Wheaton missed a chance to pull within one and, following an offensive rebound, a three-pointer was offline.

Two early buckets by Coppola during the opening stanza forced a pair of ties, and Degnan buried two free throws to make it 11-11. A Coppola lay-up at 9:02 gave the Lyons a 15-14 edge, but Emerson scored eight straight points and eventually forged a 27-19 lead at 2:13.

Wheaton trailed by a 27-22 count at halftime but completed a 9-0 run that carried over from the first half when senior Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) notched a steal and scored to give the Lyons a 28-27 advantage at 17:44 of the second stanza. However, Emerson took the lead for good 18 seconds later before leading by as much as 54-45 with 6:15 left and held off the visitors, who finished the game on an 11-5 run.

The Lyons kick off their home slate by hosting the Wheaton Tip-Off Tournament on Friday and Saturday. After Plymouth State University and Salve Regina University meet at 6:00 p.m. on the opening night, Wheaton faces Lyndon State College at 8:00 p.m.