CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team was defeated by host Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 70-66, this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Rockwell Cage in Cambridge, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 10-8 overall and 4-6 in NEWMAC play, while the Engineers improve to 3-16 and 2-8.
MIT shot 45.6% (26-57) from the floor, while holding Wheaton to just 34.3% (24-70), including 21.2% (7-33) from three-point range. The Engineers were outstanding in their transition game, doubling up on their guests by a count of 18-9 in fast break points.
First year guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) led the Lyons with 18 points to go with four assists, four steals, a block and a career-high eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.Y.) netted a career-best 15 points and added a pair of assists and a rebound. Sophomore guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) contributed with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes of action and sophomore forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) finished a point shy of a double-double with nine points to go with a game-high 12 rebounds in addition to two blocks and a pair of assists.
Junior guard Spencer Lin (Menlo Park, Calif.) posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for MIT and added four assists and a steal, while first year guard Isaac Dobie (Kitty Hawk, N.C.) also netted 16 points in addition to five rebounds, two blocks and a steal. First year guard Merlin Gogolin (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points and nine boards, while handing out four assists and coming up with a steal.
Dobie gave the Engineers a 42-36 lead with a jumper in the paint just 10 seconds into the second session. Herry capped a 7-2 Wheaton run to pull the visitors within 44-43 with 17:22 showing in the second session. The teams were within five points of each other for the remainder of the contest.
MIT increased its margin to 50-45 at the 14:48 mark, before Iafrate scored the next four points to cut the deficit to one again for the Lyons with 13:36 to go in the game. Morrissey later converted a layup to knot the contest at 53-53 with 11:45 remaining in the second half. The teams traded baskets before sophomore guard Tim Minicozzi (Belmont, Mass.) made a layup to give the Engineers a 60-55 lead with 7:49 to play in the game. Dobie converted a layup at the 2:07 mark to keep MIT in front at 67-63. Wheaton made one last charge with Iafrate scoring three unanswered points to make it 67-66 with 22 ticks left on the second half clock, but it was as close as the Lyons would get. Iafrate looked to tie the game, but he was off the mark with three seconds to play .
The Engineers built an early 11-4 advantage with 16:07 showing in the opening half, before the Lyons put together a 14-3 stretch, paced by five points from Iafrate, to take an 18-14 lead with 12:16 to go in the first session.
MIT reeled off 13 straight points, including five from Lin, to give the home team a 27-18 lead with 9:55 left in the first half. Wheaton junior forward Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan) made a layup at the 6:51 mark to keep the score at 30-23, but the Engineers ripped off seven unanswered points buoyed by a triple from senior guard Luke Wagner (Austin, Texas) and a jumper from Spencer to give them their largest lead of the night at 37-23 with 4:19 showing. The Lyons roared back with a 13-3 stretch to close out the half, led by eight points from Pedevillano, to cut the halftime deficit to 40-36.
Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, January 27 when it hosts NEWMAC foe Springfield College at 5:00 p.m. in Emerson Gymnasium, while MIT heads to Newport, R.I. to take on Salve Regina University on the same day in a conference tilt at 3:00 p.m.
