NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team was defeated by visiting Salve Regina University, 81-67, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play this afternoon at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
he Lyons dip to 10-11 overall and 5-7 in league play, while the Seahawks improve to 9-13 and 6-7.
Salve Regina shot 45.5% or better in each half and owned a 46.2% (30-65) mark for the game, while holding Wheaton to just 34.3% (24-70), including 7-31 (22.6%) from three-point range. The Seahawks also shot 81.3% (14-18) from the line and held a 14-7 margin in points off turnovers. The visitors registered a 45-40 advantage on the glass as well.
Junior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) led the Lyons with 17 points, including four made three-pointers and added five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) netted 14 points, grabbed six boards, dished out three assists and came up with three steals, while junior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) contributed with 11 points, five rebounds and a steal. Sophomore forward Mohammad Nasereddin (Amman, Jordan) came off the bench to chip in with eight points on a perfect 3-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the line in addition to six rebounds in 13 minutes.
Junior guard Sean Seymour (Albany, N.Y.) came off the bench to pour in a career-high 35 points to lead Salve Regina. He was 13-18 from the floor, including 4-6 from long range in addition to making five of six free throw attempts in 28 minutes off the bench. He also pulled down three rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with a pair of steals. Graduate student forward Brad Fowler (Colden, N.Y.) scored 13 points, on 5-9 from the field, to go with six boards, two assists, three blocks and a steal, while senior guard Jojo Powers (Dedham, Mass.) finished a rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds in addition a block, a steal and a game-high five assists.
The Seahawks led from start to finish and held a 7-5 lead following a layup from Morrissey for Wheaton at the 14:17 mark of the opening half. Salve Regina ripped off 10 straight points, including four from sophomore forward Brady Spencer (Pembroke, Mass.), to increase its lead to 17-5 with 10:13 showing on the first half clock.
The Lyons scored the next six points on back-to-back three-balls from first year Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) and senior guard Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.), to cut the deficit to 17-11 with 9:36 remaining in the half. Morrissey later made a layup to keep Wheaton within 25-17 at 5:56, before the Seahawks netted seven straight, including five from Seymour, to take a 32-17 advantage for their largest lead of the game with 2:52 to play in the opening session.
Wheaton scored nine of the next 10 points, paced by four points from Iafrate, to pull within 33-26 with 42 seconds left in the half, but senior guard Declan Walmsley (Franklin, Mass.) drained a trifecta with 18 ticks left on the clock to give Salve Regina a 10-point halftime lead at 36-26.
Walmsley converted a layup with 17:46 remaining in the contest to maintain a double-digit advantage for the Seahawks at 38-28. The Lyons closed within 38-32, following a layup from Nasereddin with 15:21 to go, before an 11-2 stretch, fueled by six points from Fowler, gave Salve Regina a 49-34 cushion with 11:42 left in the second stanza.
Wheaton got the difference under 10 with a 10-4 run, including five points from Morrissey, to cut the margin to 53-44 with 9:16 left in the game. The Seahawks countered with a 7-2 spurt, led by four points from Powers, to increase their lead to 60-46 and later maintained a 66-54 advantage on a four-point play from Seymour with 5:34 showing on the second half clock.
The Lyons scored seven of the next eight points, capped by a fast break layup from Perri, to pull them within 67-61 with 3:43 remaining in the half. Nasereddin kept the difference at six for the home team with a layup at the 3:13 mark to make it 69-63. It was as close as Wheaton would get for the remainder of the game. Salve Regina closed out the contest with a 12-4 run to secure the victory.
The Seahawks return to action on Saturday, February 15 when they host NEWMAC foe Babson College at 3:00 p.m., while the Lyons next foe is also Babson on February 12 in Babson Park, Mass. at 5:30 p.m.
