WENHAM, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team outlasted host Gordon College in a 72-70 win that went down to the wire this evening at the Bennett Center in Wenham, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 3-3 on the season, while the Fighting Scots slip to 2-2.
Wheaton turned the ball over just three times in the game and shot 46.2% (30-65) from the floor, despite struggling from long distance with a 10.5% (2-19) success rate from three-point range. The Lyons did not help themselves at the line, converting just 47.6% (10-21) of their free throw attempts. Gordon shot 49.2% (29-59) from the floor and were also not willing to give up the ball with just nine miscues.
Senior forward Duncan Bubar (Newton, Mass.) was extremely efficient for Wheaton, making all seven of his field goals for a 14-point effort to go with three rebounds and a steal, while junior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) finished with 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) netted 13 points, handed out three assists, pulled down six boards and came up with a pair of steals and junior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) scored 12 points and added six rebounds.
Senior guard Bernie McGuinness (Noblesville, Ind.) led all scorers for the Fighting Scots with 17 points on 6-11 shooting, including four three-pointers in addition to grabbing five rebounds and coming up with a pair of steals. Junior guard Sean Quanico (Pacifica, Calif.) contributed with 14 points on 6-10 from the field to go with two rebounds and three assists, while sophomore forward Ryan Brooks (Dudley, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points on 5-7 shooting, four rebounds and three assists.
Junior forward Isaac Jarvis (Concord, N.H.) completed a three-point play with a free throw to give Gordon its largest lead of the night at 48-39 with 18:12 remaining in the second half. The Lyons roared back with a 14-4 run, fueled by seven points from senior forward Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan), to erase the deficit and give them a 53-52 edge with 12:17 showing in the half.
The teams remained within three points of each other for the next nine-plus minutes. RB knocked down a jumper for the home team to give the Fighting Scots a 66-65 lead at the 3:01 mark. Senior guard Treyton Tebbs (Cedar City, Utah) later pulled Gordon even with a pair of free throws coming with 2:20 left in the game, before Morrissey reclaimed a two-point margin with a jumper for Wheaton with 57 ticks left in the contest. Quanico countered for the Fighting Scots with a layup to tie it at 70-70 with :29 showing on the second half clock. The Lyons were the last ones to put the ball through the net following a layup from Iafrate with just nine seconds remaining in the game. McGuinness' three-ball at the buzzer was off the mark and Wheaton came away with the road win.
The Lyons scored the first eight points of the game and got out to a 15-7 lead with 17:52 to play in the opening half. Gordon was undeterred, ripping off 10 straight points, including a pair of triples from McGuinness, to give the Fighting Scots a 17-15 lead at the 11:45 mark.
Gordon maintained a 23-20 margin after a three-point play from Brooks, but Wheaton scored the next four points, including a layup from Iafrate to put them ahead at 24-23 with 9:50 left in the first half.
The Lyons clung to a 35-34 edge with 2:01 remaining in the session, before the Fighting Scots put some distance between themselves and their guests with eight unanswered points, paced by two more three-balls from McGuinness, to take a 42-35 lead for the ninth lead change of the half. Herry scored the final points of the half with a layup for Wheaton to cut the home margin to five at the intermission.
The Lyons return to the court on Saturday, November 23 when they host State University of New York Oneonta at Emerson Gymnasium for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off, while Gordon heads to Salem, Mass. to play Salem State University on November 26 at 7:00 p.m.
