NORTON, Mass. – Junior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) netted a career-high 22 points and sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) scored 16 and handed out six assists to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team over visiting State University of New York Oneonta, 69-61, this afternoon at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons have won three straight and improve to 4-3 on the season, while the Red Dragons fall to 3-2.
Wheaton shot 47.5% (28-59) for the game, including a gaudy 57.1% (16-28) in the second half, and committed just 11 turnovers. Oneonta State committed 20 turnovers, leading to a 17-9 difference in points off turnovers and struggled at the line, making 10 of 19 attempts for a 52.6% clip. The visitors shot 45.3% (24-53) from the field, including 50% (14-28) in the opening half and controlled the glass with a sound 39-27 advantage, including 14 caroms on the offensive board, leading to a 19-6 second chance point disparity.
Morrissey was 9-17 from the floor and added three rebounds, three assists and a steal and Iafrate put on an 8-13 shooting effort to go with six boards and three steals for the Lyons. Junior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) knocked down four three-pointers as part of a 14-point showing and added three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Senior forward Xavier Hill (Johnson City, N.Y.) posted a double-double of 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go with an assist for the Red Dragons, while junior guard Elijah Castillo (Bronx, N.Y.) contributed with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. First year swingman Cam LaClair (Selkirk, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points on 4-8 shooting and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Wheaton turned a six-point second half deficit into a 12-point lead following a game-defining 18-4 run midway through the second session.
Senior swingman Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, N.Y.) converted one of two free throws to push Oneonta State's advantage to 33-27 just 24 seconds into the second half. The Lyons scored seven of the next eight points, including four from Iafrate, to take a 34-33 edge with 17:10 left on the second half clock. Castillo made a layup with 14:33 to go in the game to give the Red Dragons a 40-38 margin for the third lead change of the half. Morrissey put Wheaton on his back, netting 11 points during the suffocating 18-4 stretch to give the home team its largest lead of the afternoon at 56-44 with 7:06 showing on the second half clock.
The Lyons maintained a 64-53 cushion with 3:12 to play in the contest, before SUNY Oneonta closed to within five after an 8-2 burst, paced by four points from Castillo to make it 66-61 with 20 ticks remaining in the contest, but the last gasp run was too late for the Red Dragons.
Wheaton opened a 13-10 margin in the opening half, which was an ongoing theme for the rest of a half that saw neither team lead by more than three points until the final two minutes of the session.
Oneonta State ripped off six straight points to take a 16-13 lead at the 13:05 mark and did not trail for the rest of the half. Junior guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) later drained a three-pointer to pull the Lyons even at 25-25 for the fourth tie of the session.
The Red Dragons finally made a move to put themselves in the driver's seat with a 7-2 blitz, capped by a put-back layup from Lawrence, to give them a 32-27 lead heading into the half.
Wheaton returns to action on Tuesday, November 26 when it travels to Bristol, R.I. to take on Roger Williams University at 3:30 p.m., while Oneonta State opens conference play on December 3 when it heads to Oswego, N.Y. to play SUNY Oswego at 7:30 p.m.
