WORCESTER, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team was defeated by host Clark University (Mass.), 71-66, this afternoon at Hurst Courts in Worcester, Mass.
The Lyons drop to 9-9 overall and 4-5 in league play, while the Cougars win their third in a row to improve to 11-7 and 7-2.
Clark shot 56.9% (29-51) from the floor, including 42.1% (8-19) from three-point range and owned a 32-24 rebounding advantage. Wheaton stayed within striking distance throughout the contest, taking advantage of 15 home turnovers to build a 27-16 margin in points off turnovers.
Junior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) netted 15 points on 5-8 shooting, including 3-4 from three-point range, and added four rebounds and a pair of assists for the Lyons. Sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) scored 15 points and was 7-13 from the field to go with seven assists, three boards and four steals, while junior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Junior guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) netted 10 points and was a perfect 3-3 from the floor in addition to grabbing a rebound and handing out an assist in 21 minutes of action.
Senior forward Kekoa McArdle (Pittsfield, Mass.) led all scorers with 16 points on an efficient 8-11 from the floor and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal for the Cougars. Senior guard Bruce Saintilus (Plainville, Mass.) scored 15 points, pulled down three rebounds, dished out seven assists and picked up a pair of steals and graduate student guard Jordan Richard (Lawrence, Mass.) added 14 points, including four three-pointers in five attempts in addition to five boards and an assist. Senior guard Isaiah Taylor (Methuen, Mass.) contributed with 11 points, two rebounds, a pair of assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
Herry converted a layup to give Wheaton a 66-65 edge with 4:22 showing on the second half clock. It was the visitors' last lead of the game, before Clark closed out the contest with an 11-5 run, paced by five points from Richard, to give the home team a 71-66 decision.
Neither team led by more than 10 points through the first 10 minutes of the opening half. Sophomore guard Quentin Pridgen (Fitchburg, Mass.) converted a layup to increase the Cougars' margin to 20-17 midway through the first half, but the Lyons put together a 13-5 stretch, led by six points from Iafrate, to take a 30-25 lead with 5:34 to play in the first stanza.
Wheaton maintained a 33-30 lead late in the first half, before Richard drilled a triple for Clark with 18 ticks left on the first half clock to send the teams into the break tied at 33-33.
The Cougars scored seven unanswered points coming out of the intermission, capped by a three-pointer from Saintilus to give them a 40-33 lead at the 18:05 mark of the second session.
Clark maintained a 44-37 advantage following a McArdle layup with 15:03 to go in the game. The Lyons clawed back to within one after an 8-2 burst, including five points from senior guard Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.), cutting the deficit to 46-45 with 11:34 left in the contest. First year Boluwasefe John (Corona, N.Y.) bumped the Cougars' margin to 50-46 with a pair of free throws, before a 13-7 run, fueled by a pair of three-balls from Pedevillano, gave Wheaton a 59-57 lead with 7:07 showing on the second half clock.
The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, January 29 when they host NEWMAC foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 8:00 p.m. in Emerson Gymnasium, while Clark hosts league rival Salve Regina University on the same night at 5:30 p.m.
