Men's Basketball (2-0) Wins Plymouth State Tournament, Coppola Earns MVP Honor

The Wheaton College men's basketball team began its 2008-09 season by winning Plymouth State University's Days Inn of Campton Tip-Off Tournament over the weekend, downing Centenary College of New Jersey, 82-72 on Saturday before defeating the hosts, 69-60 on Sunday. Sophomore Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) was named most valuable player, while classmate Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) landed on the all-tournament team.

Against Centenary, the Lyons extended upon a two-point halftime lead by scoring 13 of the first 15 points in the second half. Sophomore Bobby Perry (East Providence, RI/East Providence) tallied 17 points by shooting 5-of-7, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. Coppola tied Perry for the team lead with 17 points while turning in three steals, and Sasso canned all three three-point attempts and went 5-of-6 on free-throw tries en route to 14 points and six rebounds. Junior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) turned in a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes, while freshman Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA/Worcester Academy) collected eight points and four offensive boards in his college debut.

Coppola netted 24 points versus the Panthers, going 7-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-10 at the line while picking up five rebounds and four steals. Sasso added 12 points behind a 4-of-5 effort from the charity stripe, while Weeks totaled six points and four caroms.

Senior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) moved into a tie for eighth in program history in career blocks (47). Coppola has at least tied for the team lead in scoring 20 times in 27 career games and is five three-pointers shy of Wheaton College's career top 10, having knocked down 90.