BOSTON, Mass. — Sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) matched his career high with 22 points and the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team's defense allowed just 14 second half points in a 72-50 victory over host Emerson College this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Brown and Plofker Gymnasium in Boston, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 11-13 overall and 6-9 in league play, while the Lions drop to an identical 11-13 and 6-9.
Wheaton shot 42.9% (27-63) for the game, including 11-21 (52.4%) from three-point range and owned a 46-34 rebounding advantage. Emerson shot just 32.1% (18-56) on the night and was held to a meager 19.2% (5-26) in the second half, including 1-10 from long distance.
Iafrate was 3-6 from beyond the arc and added five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block for the Lyons. Junior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) scored 11 points on 5-9 from the field, grabbed two boards, handed out a pair of assists and came up with a steal, while classmate Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) also chipped in with 11 points, six boards and a pair of assists.
Junior Jacob Armant (Arlington, Texas) netted 15 points and was 3-5 from three-point range in addition to pulling down five rebounds and dishing out three assists to lead the Lions. Junior center Linus Helmhold (Krefeld, Germany) contributed with 13 points, seven rebounds, a block, a steal and an assist.
Wheaton owned a 38-36 halftime lead, before it effectively put the game away with a 22-7 run in the first seven minutes of the new half. Iafrate fueled the run with 10 points with Morrissey adding seven to give the Lyons a 60-43 cushion with 13:11 to play in the second stanza.
Neither team scored a point for the next 7:11, before sophomore guard Ray Allen III (Miami, Fla.) converted a layup to cut the deficit to 62-47 for Emerson. Wheaton left no doubt of the outcome, ripping off 10 straight points, including seven from junior guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.), to increase the visitors' advantage to 72-45 for the Lyons' largest lead of the night with 2:25 showing on the second half clock.
Following the opening bucket from the home Lions, Wheaton scored eight unanswered points to take an 8-2 margin with 17:37 to play in the first half. Emerson scored seven of the next nine points, including four from Helmhold, to pull within 10-9 at the 14:55 mark of the half.
Senior forward Asha Gardiner (Christchurch, New Zealand) kept it a one-point deficit for the Lions with a layup seven minutes into the game, before Iafrate sparked an 11-3 Lyon run with a pair of triples to give Wheaton a 27-18 advantage with 8:19 remaining in the session. Emerson reeled off the next 10 points, paced by seven from Helmhold, to give the home team its first lead (28-27) since the opening hoop with 6:15 to go in the half.
The teams exchanged the lead five times before Iafrate made a layup prior the end of the half to give the Lyons a two-point margin at the intermission.
Wheaton returns to the court on Saturday, February 22 when it takes on No. 17 Worcester Polytechnic Institute in league play at 2:00 p.m., while the Lions head to Newport, R.I. to play Salve Regina University on the same day at 1:00 p.m.
