BIDDEFORD, Maine — First year guard Markus Nordin (Wenham, Mass.) (18) and sophomore guard Chris Billone (Windham, N.H.) (17) combined for 35 points to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team to a 70-57 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University this evening in the opening round of the Jim Beaudry Classic hosted by University of New England at Coach Beaudry's Court in Biddeford, Maine.
The Lyons improve to 1-0 on the season, while the Warriors dip to 0-2 in the season opener for both teams. Wheaton takes on University of New England, an 88-77 winner over Medgar Evers College, in tomorrow's Championship game at 3:00 p.m., while Eastern Connecticut State plays Medgar Evers in the Consolation contest at 1:00 p.m.
The Lyons shot 48.1% (26-54) from the floor, including an overwhelming 12-24 from three-point range, while the Warriors were held to just 36.2% (21-58) and knocked down just 4-15 (26.7%) from long range. Wheaton also owned a 41-29 rebounding advantage.
Nordin was 7-11 from the floor, including 4-7 from three-point territory in his collegiate debut for the Lyons, while adding four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. Billone was very efficient from the floor, converting 6-8 from the field, including 5-7 from beyond the arc, to go with five rebounds in just 17 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Tristan Herry (Taunton, Mass.) was 5-10 shooting and was 2-3 from three-point range in a 13-point effort in addition to six boards and three assists. Sophomore forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and a block.
Junior guard Ty Calloway (Enfield, Conn.) led Eastern Connecticut State with 11 points, three rebounds, a steal and an assist and first year guard Esco Greene (New Britain, Conn.) contributed with seven points on 3-4 from the floor and added two rebounds and a pair of assists.
Greene scored on a layup with 18:36 to play in the opening half to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead, which was also the only time they led in the contest. The teams were later tied at 10-10 with 13:56 showing in the first half, before sophomore guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) capped an 8-0 run with a layup to give Wheaton an 18-10 margin with 9:22 to go in the stanza. Greene canned a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 18-15 for Eastern Connecticut with 8:31 to play in the half, but it was as close as ECSU would get for the remainder of the night.
Nordin drilled a three-pointer at the 4:40 mark of the half to give the Lyons a 28-20 lead and Herry buried a triple just over three minutes later to increase Wheaton's cushion to 37-26 with 78 seconds remaining in the half. Calloway knocked down a jumper for the Warriors for the final points of the half to cut the Lyons' lead to 37-28 heading into the intermission.
Wheaton opened the second half with a 10-2 blitz, behind five points from Billone, to take a 47-30 advantage with 17:53 to go in the game. Sophomore forward Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford, Conn.) hit a jumper at 16:22 of the half for Eastern Connecticut State, before the Lyons put together a 13-5 stretch, including a pair of trifectas from Billone to give Wheaton a 61-39 lead with 10:46 remaining in the game.
The Lyons took their largest lead of the night when Nordin nailed a three-pointer with 3:50 to play to give them a 68-45 cushion. The Warriors closed out the half by scoring 12 of the final 13 points, including five from junior guard Dan Wellington (Bridgeport, Conn.), to cut the margin to 69-57 for the final score.
