BOSTON, Mass – Three Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball players recorded career-high point totals, including 19 from first year guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) in a 90-76 victory over host Emerson College this afternoon in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference play at Brown and Plofker Gymnasium in Boston, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 9-5 overall and 3-3 in NEWMAC league play, while the Lions fall to 5-10 and 1-5. The victory for the Lyons is the first between the two teams since January 30, 2019 when Wheaton posted a 88-79 victory over Emerson.
Wheaton shot 68.1% (32-47) from the floor as a team to mark the second-highest field goal percentage in school history and the best since the Lyons knocked down 75.5% (37-49) of their tries vs. Nichols College on January 23, 1993. Four members of the team shot 100% from the floor, while four players were also perfect from behind the three point arc. The Lions shot well from the field as well with a 51.9% clip (28-54), but happened to post the effort during Wheaton's historic shooting effort.
Iafrate enjoyed a strong effort on both sides of the court, adding seven rebounds to match a career best along with three assists and three steals. Sophomore forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) matched Iafrate's presence on both ends of the court by tying a career-high with fourteen points, while making all six of his field goal attempts, including his only try from long range. Morrissey added six rebounds, three assists and one steal on the day and junior forward Tarmo Tari (Chelmsford, Mass.) netted a personal-best 13 points, converting 4-4 from the floor, including a pair of triples. He also added four rebounds and an assist to his line.
Sophomore Asher Gardiner (Christchurch, New Zealand) led Emerson with fifteen points, shooting 5-6 from the floor, while adding six rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals. Sophomore Brendan McNamara (Arlington, Mass.) was not far behind with fourteen points on 6-8 from the floor, including 2-4 from behind the three point arc and added one rebound, three assists, and a steal. Junior Lucas Brenner (Miami, Fla.) chipped in 12 points, one rebound and a steal.
The Lyons' victory was fueled by two strong runs, one in each half of play. Five different players contributed to a 15-7 stretch in a span of 6:18, led by five points from Tarmo and three each from Iafrate and senior guard Jaden Keliher (Amesbury, Mass.). The burst extended their lead to fourteen points (29-15) with 7:47 remaining in the first half. The second decisive blow came just two minutes into the second half and lasted for four minutes where the Lyons did not miss a shot and outscored Emerson, 14-3. The stretch was fueled by seven points from Morrissey to increase Wheaton's advantage to 61-41 with 14:04 showing in the second stanza.
The Lyons were able to maintain their lead and keep Emerson at a double digit deficit for a majority of the contest. The Lions cut the deficit to nine points in both the first and second halves, but it was as close as they would get for the contest.
Both teams return to the court on Tuesday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. for conference action with Wheaton hosting United States Coast Guard Academy and Emerson playing host to Springfield College.
