NASHUA, N.H. – Sophomore guard Wyatt Benoit (Saco, Maine) scored a career-high 18 points as one of four players to net 16 or more for the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team in an 87-69 victory this evening in the season opener at Muldoon Center in Nashua, N.H.
The Lyons improve to 1-0 on the season, while the Raiders fall to 0-1.
Wheaton shot 42.9% (30-70) for the game and owned a 42-36 rebounding margin. Rivier posted a 43.5% (27-62) shooting effort.
Benoit was 6-11 from the floor, including 2-3 from long range and was 4-4 from the free throw line to go with four rebounds and an assist in 22 minutes for the Lyons. Senior guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) scored 17 points on 8-15 shooting and added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior guard Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) and sophomore forward Marcus Perrier (Broward County, Fla.) each dropped in 16 points. Perri added six rebounds and Perrier had seven caroms and three steals in 20 minutes. The game marked the first time the Blue and White boasted four or more players with 16 or more points in the season opener since Alex DuBrow '20 (19 points), Evan Cook '23 (19 points), Mike Perry '23 (20 points) and Aaron Williams '24 (24 points) all achieved the same feat in a 108-107 double-overtime loss to Wentworth Institute of Technology on November 9, 2019.
Sophomore guard O'Cien Valdes (Homestead, Fla.) led the Raiders with 18 points in addition to five rebounds and three assists, while junior forward Matt Youngquist (Middleboro, Mass.) netted 17 points, pulled down seven rebounds, dished out two assists and blocked a shot. Junior guard Steph Barnes (Waltham, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Rivier raced out to a 9-2 lead, paced by four points from Youngquist in the opening half. The Raiders later maintained an 18-16 margin with 11:05 to play in the half, before sophomore swingman Paul Conway Jr (Framingham, Mass.) drained a three-pointer to give Wheaton its first lead at 19-18. Senior forward Jack Carter (Nashville, Tenn.) made a layup for the third lead change in a span of three minutes to give Rivier a 22-21 edge with eight minutes to go in the half. It proved to be the home team's last lead of the night.
The Lyons roared back with a blistering 12-0 run on a 4-4 shooting effort and two made threes, including a triple from Perri to give Wheaton a 33-22 advantage with 4:18 showing in the first half. The Raiders scored eight of the next nine points, including a trifecta as part of five points from senior guard Theo Briscoe IV to cut the deficit to 34-30 for the home team with 2:34 left in the half. The Lyons closed out the session with a 9-2 run, including five more points from Perri to give Wheaton a 43-32 halftime margin.
Iafrate bumped the Lyons' lead to 47-32 with a layup at the 18:28 mark of the second half, before Rivier ripped off nine straight points as part of a 14-5 stretch, led by six points from Valdes to pull the Raiders to within 52-46 with 14:50 to play in the game. Wheaton put the game out of reach with a 22-5 stretch over the next six-plus minutes, fueled by eight points from Perrier, to expand its advantage to 74-51 with 8:28 remaining in the contest. Perrier later made a driving layup to give the Lyons their largest lead at 83-59 with 3:32 left in the game.
Wheaton returns to the court on Wednesday, November 11 when it opens the home slate against No. 14 Tufts University at 7:00 p.m., while Rivier travels to Bridgewater, Mass. to take on Bridgewater State University on the same day for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
