Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (19-10, 6-6) Finishes Season with Second Most Wins in School History

The Wheaton College men's basketball team finished it season with the second most victories in the 14-year history of the program, as the Lyons advanced to the semifinal round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament. Seventh-seeded Wheaton defeated second-seeded Plymouth State College, 86-83 in Wednesday's first round game in Plymouth and then dropped a 95-90 overtime decision to third-seeded Keene State College in Saturday's semifinal round in Keene.

At Plymouth State, sophomore guard Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) recorded a career-high 32 points and nine rebounds, leading the Lyons to the three-point upset. Wheaton and Plymouth batted through four lead changes and four ties in a tight opening half. Vega and junior Scott Mahan (Bridgewater, MA/Cardinal Spellman) didn't waste any time offensively, as the tandem combined for the Lyons' opening 12 points. A tip-in by Mahan at the 14-minute mark knotted the score at 12 points apiece. Five straight points by sophomore Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) lifted Wheaton to a 17-12 advantage with 12:23 to play.

The Lyons extended their lead to 24-15 midway through the stanza, as junior Frankie Whall (Roslindale, MA/Cheshire Academy) capped a 14-3 Wheaton run with a lay-up from sophomore Marco Joubert (Haverhill, MA/Governor Dummer Academy). Holding a 28-19 edge with 9:03 on the clock, the Lyons saw the Panthers use a 13-3 spurt over the next five minutes to capture a 32-31 lead. In the final four minutes of the half, both teams found most of their points from the free throw line. Wheaton used seven free throws to retake a 38-37 edge with just under two minutes to go. A three-pointer by Vega followed by a pair of freebies from Plymouth closed out the scoring, as the Lyons led 41-39 at the intermission.

Other than a mini 6-0 run by the Panthers early in the second stanza that gave the hosts a 54-50 edge, Wheaton held the upper hand for the remainder of the contest. A pair of lay-ups by freshman Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) and Vega followed by two free throws by Vega gave the Lyons a lead that would not be relinquished. Wheaton turned a 54-50 deficit into a 71-60 bulge with 7:49 on the clock. Trailing 77-64 with 4:42 to play, the Panthers refused to go away. Plymouth sprinted to a 12-1 run in just under three minutes time to close the gap to 78-76. The Panthers cut the game to two points on two more occasions, but would get no closer as the Lyons managed to secure the win from the free throw line. Despite only hitting 6-of-11 as a team from the charity stripe in the final two minutes, Mahan helped lead Wheaton to victory with five points down the stretch, including a 3-of-3 showing from the line. Aside from Vega's 32-point effort on 13-of-26 shooting from the field, Mahan chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds while Kelly added a game-high seven assists.

Despite 20 points and a school-record tying 21 rebounds from Mahan on Saturday, the Lyons saw a 14-point second-half lead disappear and in the process dropped the overtime decision to Keene State. Tied at four points apiece 3:49 into the game, KSC exploded, going on a 12-2 run to open a 16-6 advantage with 10:45 on the clock. Trailing 20-10 with just under 9:00 to play, Wheaton went on its own run, using a 15-1 advantage over a 5:18 stretch to open a four-point lead with 3:38 remaining. The two teams played nip-and-tuck basketball for the rest of the half, with the Lyons holding a 33-31 halftime edge.

The majority of second half belonged to Wheaton, as the Blue and White led for the first 15:47 of the stanza, eventually opening up a 14-point advantage with 9:57 to go. The Owls answered the challenge, battling back to take a one-point lead with 2:44 to play. With 18 seconds remaining, Kelly hit a pair of free throws to put the Lyons in front, 82-79. With time winding down, Keene tied the game, hitting a three with 5.1 seconds remaining. Wheaton had a chance to win the game in regulation, however senior Jarett Lewis' (Detroit, MI/South Kent School) last-second attempt was blocked and the game went into overtime.

In the overtime period, the Lyons took a four-point lead behind a Mahan basket with 2:45 remaining. Keene answered, pulling to within two points before another three-pointer gave KSC the lead for good with 40 ticks on the clock. Following a steal, the Owls closed the game out from the free throw line, hitting on 4-of-6 shots from the charity stripe to capture the five-point victory. Mahan was unstoppable for Wheaton, recording his twelfth double-double of the season. In addition to his 20 points and career-high 21 boards, Mahan registered season-best totals of seven assists and four steals as well as a season-high tying four blocks in the losing effort. The 21 rebounds tied Mahlon Williams' school record for rebounds in a game set in December of 1992. Vega also paced the Lyons with a team-high 21 points and five assists, while Stanton and junior Richard Henninger (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) rounded out the double-figure scoring with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Women's Track Captures ECAC Division III Championship, Men Finish 13th Overall

The Wheaton College women's indoor track and field team captured the 2003 ECAC Division III Championship at the Tufts University Gantcher Center Saturday. Recording 73 points, the Lyons finished seven points ahead of second place Colby College. The men placed 13th overall, registering 24 points on the day. The College of New Jersey won the men's title, 43.5 points in front of runner-up RPI.

The women were paced by freshman Aquila Williams-Judge (Boston, MA/Scituate) and junior Vernick Smith (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson), each of whom scored points in two events over the two-day meet. On Friday, Williams-Judge won the long jump with an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying leap of 5.81 meters. Saturday, she finished fourth in the 55-meter dash with a provisional qualifying time of 7.22. Smith finished second in the 200-meter dash along with a fifth place mark and provisional qualifying time of 7.23 in the 55-meter dash.

Also posting a victory for the women was junior Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury), who won the 200-meter dash in a time of 24.91. James scored a provisional qualifying time in the preliminaries of the 55-meter dash (7.32). Another provisional time was reached in the 55M dash by Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury). In the preliminaries of the event, Aspen ran the sprint in 7.21. She finished eighth in the finals with a time of 7.38.

Other provisional marks came from senior captain Kerry Teamey (Klamath Falls, OR/Henley) and freshman Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) in the pole vault, senior captains Noreen Kordzeil (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) and Kristen Cullen (Stoneham, MA/Stoneham) in the 55-meter hurdles, sophomore Tessa Donoghue (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) in the triple jump and junior captain Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) in the 800-meter run.

On the men's side, sophomore Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) continued to dominate the Division III men's high jump circuit by collecting the top finish with a leap of 2.14 meters. Olson has been the top collegiate competitor in 10 of the 11 meets he entered this year. Also posting a strong performance was junior Terry Panetta (Hicksville, NY/St. Anthony's), who broke Kevin Bullock's 1999 record in the 1,500-meter run with a second place time of 3:57.98. Junior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug finished eighth in the 200-meter dash, while the 4x400-meter relay team of Panetta, Benson, sophomore Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and freshman Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) finished fourth in 3:22.03.

Men's Lacrosse (0-1) Opens Season with 15-8 Loss at Nationally-Ranked Bowdoin

The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team opened its 2003 campaign on a down note Sunday afternoon, as the Lyons dropped a 15-8 decision to 14th-ranked Bowdoin College at Ryan Field. Wheaton hung tough in the opening period and only trailed 4-2 as time expired, but Bowdoin broke the game open in the second frame by outscoring the Lyons, 6-2 for a comfortable 10-4 advantage at the half. Despite playing an even second half with the Polar Bears, Wheaton was unable to overcome the early six-goal deficit en route to its first loss of the season.

Junior Zak Putnam (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) paced the Lyons with two goals and one assist, while classmate Scott Liston (Plainfield, NH/Kimball Union) registered a goal and two assists. Junior midfielder Chris Milligan (Madison, CT/Daniel Hand) posted a goal and an assist, while classmate Evan Carbotti (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) added a goal. First-year athletes Ellis Reavey (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) and John Sharry (Westwood, MA/Westwood) tallied their first collegiate goals.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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