NORTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Trevor Parks (Oldsmar, Fla.) drilled a three-pointer with no time left on the clock to give the visiting United States Coast Guard Academy a three-point win over host Wheaton College (Mass.), 71-68, this evening in New England Men's & Women's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 9-6 overall and 3-4 in league play. The loss was their first at home to end an unblemished mark at Emerson Gymnasium, while the Bears improve to 11-5 and 4-3.
Coast Guard trailed by as many as 18 points in the opening half and scored just 25 points, before outscoring Wheaton, 46-30 in the second half to secure the victory. The Bears struggled in the first half, shooting just 27.6% (8-29), but collected themselves to shoot 48.4% (15-31) in the second half. Coast Guard's interior defense made it tough for the Lyons to convert any easy layups with 11 blocks as a team and held its host to just 35.9% (23-64) shooting from the field.
Junior guard Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.) dropped in 16 points, including four three-pointers to lead Wheaton in addition to seven rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot and sophomore guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) scored 13 points to go with seven boards, three steals and a pair of assists. Sophomore forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds and first year guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) was 4-5 from the field in a 10-point effort, while grabbing two rebounds and handing out an assist in 24 minutes of play.
Junior guard Declan Rooney (Seattle, Wash.) scored a game-high 21 and made 13 of 14 free throws to go with six rebounds and an assist for the Bears, while sophomore guard Mitch Shettles (New Albany, Miss.) was 6-12 from the floor to net 16 points and add five boards, two steals and an assist. Parks finished with nine points on 3-4 shooting to go with five blocks, three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Coast Guard erased an eight-point deficit late in the second half when Parks drained a three-pointer to give the visitors a 65-64 edge at 2:17 to cap a 15-6 stretch, fueled by eight points from Rooney. The Lyons answered on the next possession when junior forward Duncan Bubar (Newton, Mass.) sank a pair of free throws to reclaim the lead for Wheaton at 66-65 with 2:05 to play in the game.
Shettled countered with a jumper outside the paint and sophomore swingman Luke Farrell (Ortley, N.J.) later made one of two free throws to give the Bears a 68-66 margin with 21 ticks left in the contest. Herry canned a pair of free throws to pull the Lyons even at 68-68 with just 15 seconds showing in the game. Rooney dribbled into the paint, before sending a low pass to the left corner that Parks had to hurry to pick off the floor and get off the last-second winning heave with no time left on the clock..
Wheaton scored the first 11 points of the game and held Coast Guard scoreless until Farrell converted a layup with 4:35 gone in the opening half. The Lyons continued to dominate the first 10 minutes of the contest with a 9-2 stretch, capped by a layup from sophomore guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) to give Wheaton a 20-4 advantage with 10:10 showing in the opening session. Herry buried a triple later in the half to maintain the home team's lead at 26-10 with 7:11 remaining in the half. Coast Guard ripped off eight straight points to climb within 26-18 at the 4:22 mark, before the Lyons regained their focus, putting together a 12-2 run, including seven points from Murphy, to take their biggest lead of the night at 38-20 with 2:07 to go in the opening stanza.
The Bears closed out the half with the final five points and carried that momentum into the second session, netting the first 11 points of the half to cut an 18-point margin to just two in a span of 6:37 to make it 38-36.
Wheaton regrouped with a 10-2 burst, led by eight points, including consecutive three-point plays capped by a free throw from Iafrate, to increase the Lyons' lead to 48-38 with 11:52 to go in the contest. Iafrate made another layup at 6:03 to maintain Wheaton's lead at 58-50, before Coast Guard mounted its comeback.
The Bears are in action again on January 18 when they travel to Babson Park, Mass. to take on NEWMAC rival Babson College at 7:00 p.m., while the Lyons head to Worcester, Mass. to play Worcester Polytechnic Institute on the same night at the same time.
