MANHATTAN, NY- The Wheaton College men's basketball team avenged yesterday's first-round loss in strong fashion on Tuesday, using a game-opening 16-0 spurt en route to a 90-56 triumph over Rivier College in capturing the consolation contest of the New York University (NYU) Holiday Tournament at Coles Sports Center.

Sophomores Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) and Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick), who combined to tally 14 of the Lyons' opening 16 points, helped Wheaton improve to 7-3. The Raiders fell to 4-3 after winning four of their initial five games. Coppola finished with 22 points in just 20 minutes after going 8-of-12 from the field, while Sasso had 10 points.

Wheaton dominated in many facets of today's action, holding 26-9 and 32-18 advantages in points off turnovers and points in the paint, respectively. The Blue and White's bench outscored Rivier's, 41-24, and the Lyons finished with a 17-8 edge in second-chance points. Wheaton hit on 50 percent of its field goals, 45 percent of its three-pointers and 84.4 percent of its freebies. The Lyons also grabbed 38 rebounds compared to the Raiders’ 29.

The Blue and White knocked down six of its initial eight shots in sprinting to a 16-0 lead by the 16:22 mark of the first half. Wheaton pushed its advantage to 19 points four times before a three ball from junior Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) and two free throws by senior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) made it 37-15 at 3:13. Michel scored seven straight points to propel the Lyons to a half-ending 12-2 run.

Rivier cut its second-half deficit to 22 points twice, with the latter coming at 10:08, but Wheaton went on a 23-8 run for a 90-53 advantage in the waning seconds. Thirteen Lyons broke into the scoring column, with nine points each coming from Michel and senior Kristopher Pedra (Avon, CT/Avon). Freshman Shawn Daily (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Saint Michael Academy) tallied eight points and six boards in his first collegiate start, while Leo contributed eight points and five rebounds.

Sophomore Nick Bean (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) paced Rivier with 15 points, while senior Lance Bisson (Nashua, NH/Nashua North) had 11 points and four assists.

Wheaton will compete in its third tournament of the season beginning on Saturday, January 3, when the Lyons face Minnesota's Bethany Lutheran College in the Trinity College Holiday Invitational at 8:00 p.m.