NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) fell a shot short of erasing a 16-point deficit in a 69-66 loss to visiting Lasell University this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
the Lyons dip to 1-1 on the season, while the the Lasers improve to 1-1.
Lasell shot 43.3% (29-67) from the field, including 39.1% (9-23) from three point range, while holding Wheaton to just 24% (6-25) from long range as part of a 41.7% (25-60) shooting effort for the game.
The Lasers led by 13 at halftime in large part to holding their hosts to just 30% (9-30) from the field and making 53.1% (17-32) of their own attempts.
Junior guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) led the Lyons with 19 points on an extremely efficient 8-11 shooting effort in addition to grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out three assists, coming up with three steals and blocking two shots. Sophomore swingman Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) netted 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers and pulled down two rebounds. Senior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) contributed with eight points, a game-high 11 boards, two assists and a steal.
Junior guard Che Hanks (Chelsea, Mass.) scored 19 points and the Lasell Hanks was 4-7 from three-point territory and added four rebounds, four assists and four steals for Lasell. Junior guard Andy Madesko (Atlanta, Ga.) finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to go with five assists and a blocked shot. Senior forward Quinton Partee Jr. chipped in with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Junior guard Tyler Costin (Viera, Fla.) drilled a three-pointer with 8:06 to go in the game to give the Lasers a 62-52 advantage. Wheaton battled back, ripping off the next nine points, including four from Iafrate to pull the Lyons within one at 62-61 with 5:29 showing on the second half clock. Iafrate later sank a pair of free throws to keep the margin at one (65-64) at the four minute mark. Lasell pushed its lead back to five following a jumper from Madesko, as the shot clock was about to expire, and a put-back from senior guard Daniel Edmonds (Port Saint Lucie, Fla.) with 37 ticks left on the clock.
Perri converted a pair of free throws on Wheaton's next possession to cut the deficit to 69-66 and, after a missed Laser free throw on the front end of a one-and-one, the Lyons had a chance to tie, but Morrissey's heave from three-point range was off the mark as time expired.
Senior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) made a layup with 16:12 remaining in the opening half to give Wheaton its only lead of the night at 7-6. The Lasers put together a 22-5 run over the next eight minutes, capped by a pair of trifectas from junior guard Cameron Foster-Martez (Atlanta, Ga.), to take a 28-12 advantage with 8:23 left in the half. The cushion proved to be enough to keep the game out of reach for the Lyons for the rest of the evening.
Hanks knocked down a three-ball to keep the margin at 16 (31-15) with 7:40 to go, but Wheaton cut into the difference with a 10-4 burst, fueled by five points from Iafrate, to make it 35-25 with 1:43 to play in the initial session. Hanks hit another trey with 28 seconds left to restore the 16-point margin for Lasell, before Herry converted three free throws with three-tenths of a second left in the half to set the score at 41-28 at the intermission.
Sophomore guard Esmer Madesko (Atlanta, Ga.) canned a three-pointer to open the second stanza and give the visitors a 44-28 lead. The Lyons roared back with an 11-2 outburst, including four points from sophomore forward Rex Zadrozny (Cumberland, R.I.), to pull within 46-39 at the 13:51 mark of the second half. The Lasers punched back as they had all night with a three from Costin and a fast break lay-up from junior forward Cameron Nell (James Island, S.C.) to restore their double-digit lead at 51-39 with just over 13 minutes to play in the game.
Wheaton countered with seven straight points, including a three from Perri and four points from Iafrate to make it a five-point game at 51-46 with 11:54 showing. Iafrate kept the difference at five with a fast-break layup with 8:54 remaining to make it 57-52. Costin drained another three just 48 seconds later to bump Lasell's lead to 62-52.
The Lyons return to the court when they travel to Oneonta, N.Y. to take on host Oneonta State in the opening round of the Michael A. Freilich Classic on Saturday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m., while the Lasers return to action on the same day when they host Wentworth Institute of Technology at 6:00 p.m.
