NORTON, Mass. — Senior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) poured in a career-high 25 points and ripped down 14 rebounds to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team over visiting Bridgewater State University, 90-81, this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons win their third in a row to improve to 4-1 for their best start since they won 10 of their first 11 games to start the 2018-19 campaign. The Bears drop to 0-3.
Wheaton shot 50.7% (37-73) for the game and knocked down 12 three-pointers for the third time this season, while holding Bridgewater State to just 38.2% (29-76) shooting.
Morrissey was 10-16 from the floor, including 3-5 from three-point range and added an assist, a steal and a blocked shot for the Lyons. Junior guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) netted 14 points on 7-11 from the field, grabbed two boards, came up with three steals and handed out a game-high five assists. Sophomore forward Rex Zadrozny (Cumberland, R.I.) contributed with 12 points on 6-10 shooting and added five rebounds, two blocks and a pair of assists.
Senior guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) led the Bears with 20 points and drilled five of eight from three-point range in addition to four rebounds, three assists and a steal, while junior guard Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) scored 18 points on 8-13 from the field to go with four rebounds. Junior center Samuel Omisore (Boston, Mass.) posted a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds and added a steal.
Kikuba fueled a 15-4 run with seven points to give Bridgewater State a 32-25 margin with 5:38 left in the opening half. Wheaton took the lead for good after going on a torrid 13-2 run, paced by a pair of three-pointers from senior guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.), to take a 38-34 margin with a minute to play in the opening half. Junior guard Markus Nordin (Wenham, Mass.) kept it a four-point lead with a triple for the last points of the half to give the home team a 41-37 lead at the break.
Taylor kept the Bears within four with a layup to make it 43-39 just 32 seconds into the second stanza. The Lyons began to pull away with a 13-4 stretch, capped by back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.), to increase their margin to 56-43 with 16:33 showing on the second half clock. Kikuba got the deficit under 10 for Bridgewater State with a pair of free throws to cut the difference to 58-49 at the 14:47 mark, but Wheaton put the contest out of reach with a 15-3 run, fueled by nine points from Morrissey, to give the Lyons a commanding 73-52 cushion with 11:08 to go in the game. First year swingman Paul Conway Jr. (Framingham, Mass.) knocked down a jumper with 2:49 remaining in the contest to give the home team its largest lead of the night at 90-68.
The Bears scored the last 13 points of the night, paced by four points each from first year guards Jake Olmstead (Franklin, Mass.) and Tzar Powell-Aparicio (Lowell, Mass.) to close the gap to 90-81 to end the game.
Bridgewater State opened the game with a 13-4 burst to take its largest lead of the night with 16:24 to go in the first half, led by five points from Kikuba. Wheaton answered with 10 of the next 12 points, capped by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) to pull the Lyons within a point at 15-14 with 14:26 showing in the half. Wheaton later took a 21-17 advantage after ripping off seven unanswered points, including five from Iafrate, before the Bears went on their run to take a seven-point lead late in the half.
The Lyons return to the court on Saturday, November 22 when they host Gordon College at 1:00 p.m., while Bridgewater State hosts Regis College (Mass.) in the opening round of the BSU Cave Classic on November 21 at 5;30 p.m.
