Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (12-6, 3-3) Posts 2-1 Week in League, Beats Springfield & Coast Guard

The Wheaton College men's basketball team posted a 2-1 week in league play and in the process moved into sole possession of fourth place in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). The Lyons began the week with a 75-66 loss to Babson College in Emerson Gymnasium on Tuesday, but bounced back with a pair of road victories, including defeating Springfield College, 75-59 on Thursday and the Coast Guard Academy, 76-67 on Saturday afternoon.

Versus Babson, turnovers plagued Wheaton the entire game and the Beavers took full advantage, holding a 30-15 edge in points off turnovers. The Lyons still managed to stay close, as the two teams battled through four lead changes and three ties through the first 20 minutes of play. In the second half, Babson used a 10-4 spurt to open the stanza in taking a 39-29 lead with 16:26 to go. Wheaton stayed close but never took the lead, as the Lyons were within four at 52-48 with 8:22 on the clock. The visitors yet again had an answer, going on an 8-2 run for a 60-50 cushion with 6:31 remaining. Trailing 65-54 with 4:35 to play, the Lyons turned to junior Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) and senior Scott Mahan (Bridgewater, MA/Cardinal Spellman) for instant offense. Wheaton reeled off 10 unanswered points over a two and a half minute span, as Vega and Mahan each tallied five points during that run. Down three with 1:26 left, Wheaton committed its first of three straight turnovers. The Beavers capitalized, turning their three steals into six straight points en route to clinching the victory. Mahan turned in an outstanding performance, totaling game-high totals of 24 points (10-14 FG) and 16 rebounds, including 19 points and nine boards in the second half alone. Vega finished with 17 points, four assists and three steals, while senior Richard Henninger (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) had 10 points.

At Springfield, Vega surpassed the 1,000-point milestone and head coach Brian Walmsley picked up his 100th career victory at the school. Vega, who paced all scorers with 20 points, recorded his 1,000th career point with 6:11 left in the game. It was also a big night for Walmsley, who improved to 100-76 in his seventh season at the helm of the program. Springfield took an early lead to begin the game and held onto a 6-5 edge with 15:25 remaining, but Wheaton used a 7-0 run to take a 12-6 lead and never looked back. The Lyons led by nine points on three occasions, with the latter coming at 26-17 with just under five minutes on the clock. The Pride cut their deficit to three with 1:52 to go, but five straight Wheaton points to close out the half gave the visitors a comfortable 33-25 advantage at the break. The Pride hung around in the second half, even tying the contest at 38-38 with 14:21 to play, but would get no closer as the Blue and White ballooned their lead to as many as 17 points down the stretch. Leading 52-50 with just over seven minutes showing, Wheaton took control and outscored Springfield, 23-9 the rest of the way. Vega spearheaded the attack with 11 points during the stretch, including a pair of three-pointers, three free throws and a lay-up. Although Vega led the team in scoring, it was the Lyons' big men who made the difference. Mahan had 17 points, nine boards and three blocks and senior forward Frankie Whall (Roslindale, MA/Cheshire Academy) came off the bench to score 16 points.

At Coast Guard, Mahan had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Wheaton used a 12-0 run early in the second half to pull away from the Bears. Wheaton led by as many as eight points at 15-7 in the first half, but Coast Guard tied the game 24-24 on a three-pointer. The Bears took their only lead of the game at 36-34 on a three-pointer with 2:39 left in the half, but Wheaton scored the final six points of the half for a 40-36 lead at the break. Coast Guard scored the first basket of the second half before the Lyons used a 12-0 run, capped by a Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) three-pointer, to take their biggest lead 52-38 with 15 minutes left. The Bears got as close as five at 67-62 on a three-point bucket with 2:44 left. Sophomore James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School) posted a career-high 15 points, while Vega followed up his 1,000-point milestone on Thursday with 13 points, moving him into sole possession of seventh place on Wheaton's all-time scoring list.

Women's Basketball (6-12, 2-6) Records 2-1 Road Mark, Defeats MIT & UMD

The Wheaton College women's basketball team had a rare three-game road swing this week, as the Lyons started in strong form with victories over MIT and UMass-Dartmouth. Wheaton posted a 56-47 decision at MIT on Tuesday and then made it two wins in a row with a 60-55 victory at UMass-Dartmouth on Thursday. On Saturday, the Lyons had their streak snapped by Babson College, 74-64.

At MIT, solid free throw shooting by Wheaton during the final 2:25 of the game helped the Lyons defeat the Engineers. Senior Taryn Brassil (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke) totaled a game-high 15 points and seven rebounds. Both squads traded baskets during the first ten minutes of the contest, tying the game five times. After Tech sank one of two shots from the charity stripe, Brassil gave Wheaton the lead for good on a jumper at 9:19. The Lyons closed the half with a 15-7 run, holding a 27-20 advantage at the intermission. Strong defense coupled with a pair of free throws and a basket helped MIT come within three points during the opening minutes of the second stanza. After a Wheaton timeout, the Lyons went on an 11-2 run, extending their lead to 38-26 at the 10:47 mark. The Engineers were able to whittle Wheaton's advantage to three at 45-42 before the Lyons sank nine of their next 10 free throws to finish the game. Freshman Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) posted her second double-double of the season, totaling 12 points and a season-high tying 10 rebounds, while senior Amanda Dow-Allen (Greenfield, MA/Stoneleigh-Burnham) added 10 points.

At UMass-Dartmouth, the hosts put forth a strong shooting performance in the opening half, as UMD shot 14-of-28 (.500) from the field opposed to Wheaton's 12-of-31 (.387) performance, but the Lyons hung tough and only trailed 34-31 at the break. In the second half, it was the Wheaton defense that enabled the Lyons to pull away, holding the Corsairs to nine field goals and 21 points. Wheaton trailed 55-54 down the stretch, but a lay-up from McCormack followed by four Lyon free throws clinched the victory. Wheaton had one of its best shooting performances from the charity stripe, as the Blue and White knocked down 13-of-18 (.722) free throws, including 10 in the second half. The Lyons had four players post double figures, led by Dow-Allen with a season-high tying 20 points (6-13 FG, 3-6 3-pt FG, 5-5 FT). Brassil and freshman Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic) tallied 11 points each, while junior Katie Williams (Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel) added 10 points. Sorbara handed out a team-best six assists and McCormack controlled the boards with a season-high 12 caroms.

At Babson, the Beavers built a commanding 31-10 lead, but Wheaton would slowly chip away at the Babson advantage, getting as close as 13 before a jumper gave the Beavers a 35-20 lead with 4:34 remaining. Those would be Babson's final two points of the half, however, as the Lyons closed the period with a furious 9-0 run that cut their deficit to just six heading into the break. Wheaton remained close through the first seven minutes of the second half, and then finally took the lead, 50-49, on back-to-back three-pointers by Dow-Allen with just over 12 minutes remaining. However, Babson reestablished its dominance in the paint over the next five minutes, as the Beavers grabbed six offensive rebounds during a key 12-1 run that effectively put the contest away. Wheaton would eventually get to within seven with just over one minute remaining, but the Beavers held on for the 74-64 victory. Wheaton was led by Dow-Allen, who shot 7-for-15 from the field, including a 5-for-9 clip from long range, for a game-high 23 points. McCormack was also outstanding for the Lyons, recording 14 points, eight rebounds, and four steals, while Brassil finished with nine points and five boards in the loss.

Men's and Women's Track Teams Have Success at Boston University

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed at Boston University this weekend. The Lyon women participated in the two-day Terrier Classic, while the men partook in the second annual Boston University Invitational.

Senior Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) stole the show in the 400-meter dash, as she exploded to a school-record time of 55.01 seconds, breaking her own mark of 55.13 set in the winter of 2003. James not only posted an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying time but also holds the distinction of having the fastest 400M performance to date. James finished fifth overall and was the second fastest collegiate competitor behind an athlete from St. John's University. James also competed in the 55-meter dash event, where she tied for ninth in 7.40. Junior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) placed 15th in the 55M in 7.56. Senior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) nearly qualified provisionally in the mile run, landing a time of 5:08.41 and a 17th-place finish. On the field, freshman Crystal Blamy (Walpole, NH/Fall Mountain View) finished in a tie for eighth in the high jump with a leap of 5' 2 1/4". Classmate Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) also cleared 5' 2 1/4" and placed in a tie for 13th overall.

The men had several strong performances, as two school records fell and nearly a third in addition to multiple national meet provisional qualifying performances. Senior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) shattered his own record in the 400-meter dash, while freshman Ryan Fitzgerald (Newport, RI/Rogers) tied a five-year mark in the shot put. Benson placed 12th with a provisional qualifying time of 48.50, while Fitzgerald finished eighth overall with a throw of 45' 7". Nearly breaking his own school record in the 5,000-meter run was junior Stan Pyle (South Portland, ME/South Portland), who turned in a provisional qualifying time of 14:47.67, just 19-hundredths of a second off his personal-best time from two seasons ago. Rounding out the provisional performances was junior Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) in the high jump, as he won his fourth straight individual title by clearing 6' 9 3/4".

Olson Captures Second ECAC Weekly Award of Season

Olson recently captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Field Athlete-of-the-Week honor for the second occasion of the season, this time for the week ending on Sunday, January 25. Olson continued his winning ways at the Tufts University Invitational II, leading Wheaton in the non-scoring meet with this third individual championship in the high jump at the Gantcher Family Sports & Convocation Center. For the third straight week, Olson not only topped the competition but also recorded an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying height. His performance marked the third consecutive time that Olson has cleared 7' 1", as the junior national champion posted a jump of 7' 1 1/4". Earlier in the season, he broke the school record with a leap of 7' 2 1/2".

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