Parsons scores eight points, hauls in a career-high 14 rebounds in the loss

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Wheaton College men's basketball team lost to Coast Guard Academy, 62-60, on Wednesday night in its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) season opener against the Bears inside Rolland Hall.

Wheaton junior guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./Taft School) led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting, while first-year guard Ryan Fogarty (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) turned in 15 points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal.

The Lyons front court consisting of sophomores Zach Parsons (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) and Alex Sugarman (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) combined for 25 rebounds to pace the visitors on the glass. Parsons registered eight points and a career-high 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, and Sugarman added three points, tied his career-high in rebounds with 11 and also tallied three steals.

Coast Guard junior guard Kevin Alvarez (Key Biscayne, Fla./Florida International University) guided the Bears with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. Classmate Ricky Rodriguez (Caracas, Venezuela/Cypress Bay) poured in 12 points and senior forward David Anderson (Goose Creek, S.C./Marion Military Institute) notched 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

The Bears led from the wire as Anderson buried his first of two free throw attempts just eight seconds into the contest and held on for the eventual win. Coast Guard went on to amass an early ten point differential on the scoreboard (17-7) with 13:15 remaining in the half, which included a 10-0 run to begin the game, as six separate student-athletes contributed to the spurt highlighted by Alvarez who collected five points over the course of the opening 6:45 of play.

Wheaton made it a one possession game at the 5:19 mark of the first stanza using a 17-9 run. Parsons orchestrated the run with six points, while Battaglia had five, Fogarty converted a layup at 10:44 and senior guard Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) factored into the offensive outburst with four points.

Coast Guard closed out the half with a 35-31 margin and extended its lead to as many as 12 points (57-45) with 6:38 left to play in the contest. The Lyons responded with an 11-0 run to bring the matchup within one point for the third and final time. Battaglia hit a three-pointer at 5:58 to jump start the spurt, while Sugarman followed with a layup at 4:27 and Fogarty swished a trey at 2:27 to cut into the deficit at 57-53.

After a missed jumper from the Bears on their next possession, Battaglia completed an old-fashioned three-point play to put the score at 57-56. Both teams went on to commit turnovers on their ensuing possessions before Anderson put the hosts up 60-56 by converting an and-one with 32-seconds on the clock. Alvarez and Anderson went 2-for-4 at the free throw line down the stretch, while Battaglia went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe and Fogarty put home a layup with two-seconds to play to cap the scoring.

Wheaton held the advantage in nearly every specialty category including rebounds (39-35), points off turnovers (16-7), points in the paint (26-24) fast break points (10-4) and bench points (23-19). Both teams tied in second chance points at 11-11. The Lyons 35.0-percent (21-for-60) from the field, 25.0-percent (5-for-20) from beyond the arc and 68.4-percent (13-for-19) at the line. The Bears had a 48.1 (25-for-52) field goal percentage, 41.2 (7-for-17) three-point field goal percentage and a 41.7-percent (5-for-12) showing at the free throw line.

Wheaton (3-7, 0-1 NEWMAC) hosts Clark University in a conference matchup this Saturday at 3 p.m. Coast Guard (5-7, 1-0 NEWMAC) returns to action on Saturday when the Bears host Emerson College in a NEWMAC clash at 1 p.m.

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