NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team was unable to get on track in a 72-52 loss to visiting No. 14 Tufts University this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 1-1 following their home opener, while the Jumbos improve to 1-0 following their first game of the season.
The meeting was the first between the schools since a 92-75 Tufts win on December 1, 2011.
The Jumbos used their height disparity to their advantage, owning a 50-33 rebounding advantage which translated into a 15-3 margin in second chance points. The Tufts defense also held Wheaton to a dismal 8.7% (2-23) shooting effort from three-point range and 29.3% (17-58) overall, while boasting a 46.9% (30-64) shooting rate on its own end of the floor.
Junior guard Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) netted 14 points, grabbed three rebounds and came up with a steal for the Lyons and senior guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) scored 13 points, handed out three assists and ripped four steals. Iafrate's point total gives him 1,176 for his career to pass Aaron Williams '23 for 11th on Wheaton's all-time list. Sophomore guard Wyatt Benoit (Saco, Maine) chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.
Sophomore guard Ricardo Nieves (Springfield, Mass.) was a difference maker on both ends of the floor with a game-high 16 points and six steals to lead the Jumbos and was 7-14 from the field to go with five assists, two rebounds and a blocked shot for the visitors. Junior forward Robbie Nyamwaya (Andover, Mass.) finished a rebound short of a double-double with 15 points and nine boards to go with five assists and three blocks, while sophomore guard Griffin Linstra (Brielle, N.J.) contributed with 10 points, seven rebounds and a steal.
The Jumbos got out to a 7-1 lead after a Nieves layup at the 17:43 mark of the first half and never looked back. Perri later cut the deficit to 7-5 for Wheaton with a layup and Iafrate converted one of two free throws to keep the Lyons within 9-6 with 15:32 left in the half. The Tufts defense put the clamps on Wheaton, holding its host scoreless for the next seven minutes, while scoring 11 unanswered points to take a 20-6 lead with 10:51 showing on the first half clock. Linstra capped the run with a tip-in to give the Jumbos a 14-point margin. Benoit sank a pair of free throws at 8:32 to end the Lyons' scoring drought and Perri followed with a three-ball to pull Wheaton within 20-11 with 7:50 to play in the opening session.
Iafrate kept the difference under 10 (22-13) for the Lyons with a layup at the 6:45 mark of the half, before Tufts reeled off six straight points, including a layup from Nyamwaya to give the Jumbos a 28-13 advantage with 4:37 remaining in the half. Wheaton scored six of the next eight points, paced by four from Iafrate, to keep within 30-19 with 2:39 to go in the first stanza. Tufts kept the pressure on, closing out the half with an 8-2 run that was capped by a triple from junior guard Lukas Schmid (Toronto, Ontario) to increase the visitors' margin to 38-21 at the intermission.
A jumper from Perri and a layup from Benoit, out of the break, cut the difference to 38-25 inside the first three minutes for the Lyons. The Jumbos responded with a 10-2 stretch punctuated by a Jon Medley (Laurelton, N.Y) dunk to give them a 48-27 lead with 14:02 to go in the second half. Nieves later buried a three to maintain a 62-41 advantage for Tufts with 6:32 left in the game.
Perri sparked a 7-0 blitz for Wheaton with five points to cut the deficit to 62-48 with 5:16 showing in the game. It was as close as the home team would get for the rest of the contest. The Jumbos finished the night with a 10-2 run, capped by a trifecta from Linstra to give Tufts its largest lead of the night at 72-50 with 98 seconds remaining in the game. First year forward Noah Walker (Providence, R.I.) ended the evening for the Lyons with a dunk for his first collegiate points to make it a 20-point final.
Wheaton returns to the hardwood on Saturday, November 14 when it hosts Vermont State University Lyndon in the first round of the Wheaton College Invitational on at 7:00 p.m., while the Jumbos travel to New York City on the same day to take on Union College in the opening round of the NYU Tip-Off Classic at host New York University at 7:00 p.m.
