NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team placed five players in double-digit points in a 77-70 victory over visiting University of Massachusetts Boston this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 5-6 on the season, while the Beacons dip to 6-4.
Wheaton shot 45.9% (28-61) from the floor, including 35.7% (10-28) from three-point range and held a slim 41-40 rebounding margin. UMass Boston was held to 39.4% (26-66) from the field.
Junior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) led the Lyons with 15 points and added five rebounds, a steal and an assist, while sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) dropped in 13 points on 5-9 shooting to go with four assists, three steals, six boards and a blocked shot. First year guard Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) came off the bench and drained a trio of three-pointers as part of a career-high 11 points and also pulled down four rebounds and handed out two assists in 22 minutes of action. Sophomore swingman Cam Cross-Chin (Newport, R.I.) also enjoyed a career night with 10 points on 3-4 shooting and came down with a pair of rebounds.
Senior guard Emanuel Zayas (Hollywood, Fla.) led all scorers with 21 points, including five three-balls in addition to two rebounds, two steals and a game-high six assists for the Beacons. First year guard Raphel Laurent (Peabody, Mass.) chipped in with 13 points off the bench and finished a rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards, while graduate student forward Mark Barrett (Brookline, Mass.) contributed with 12 points, five rebounds and a blocked shot.
The teams traded the lead seven times in the opening half before Wheaton took a 35-31 margin into the intermission. The Lyons held an early 11-7 margin at the 13-minute mark, following seven straight points. UMass Boston countered with five unanswered points to take a 12-11 edge after a fast break layup from Laurent just two minutes later.
Wheaton ripped off 11 straight points, including six from Perri on a pair of triples, to take its largest advantage of the night at 22-12 with 7:51 showing on the first half clock. The Beacons countered with a big scoring stretch of their own, scoring 13 consecutive points, including six from Marrett, to take a 25-22 lead with 5:05 to go in the half.
The visitors maintained a 28-25 margin, two and a half minutes later, before Wheaton scored the next seven points, capped by a hook shot from senior forward Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan) to give the home team a 32-28 lead with 84 seconds left in the stanza.
UMass Boston shaved the deficit to 39-37 after a layup from first year guard Davon Sanders (Mansfield, Mass.) with 17:06 to play in the second session. The Lyons shook off the push and put together a 14-6 stretch, fueled by six of junior guard Tristan Herry's (East Taunton, Mass.) 12 points in the game, to take a 53-43 cushion at 14:11 of the second half.
The Beacons scored eight of the next 10 points, including six from Zayas, to pull within 55-51 with 12:07 left in the contest. UMass Boston stayed within 57-53, but a three-pointer from Cross-Chinn extended Wheaton's lead to 62-53 with 9:35 remaining in the game.
Iafrate converted a driving layup to keep the Lyons' nine-point margin intact at 70-61 with 4:36 showing in the game, but the Beacons would not quit, scoring seven of the next eight points, paced by five from Laurent, to cut the deficit to one possession at 71-68 with 2:51 to play.
It was as close as the visitors would get as Morrissey drilled a three-pointer with 63 ticks left on the clock to give Wheaton a seven-point victory.
The Lyons return to the hardwood on Wednesday, January 8 when they host New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference foe Springfield College for a 7:00 p.m. tip, while UMass Boston heads to Salem, Mass. to take on Salem State University on January 4 at 12:00 p.m.
