02/27/2008
NEWMAC Tournament: Men's Basketball Falls to Wheaton, 78-74

WORCESTER, MASS. 02/27/08 - Freshman Anthony Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) had 28 points and senior Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, Mass.) scored two key free throws in the closing seconds of play to lift the seventh-seed Wheaton College mens basketball team to a 78-74 victory over second-seed Clark University in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) quarterfinal round game played Wednesday night at the Kneller Athletic Center.

With the victory, Wheaton (13-11) advances to the semifinal round where they will face third seed Coast Guard Academy on Saturday (3 p.m.) at top-seed WPI. Coast Guard beat number six MIT, 58-44, in New London, Conn.

In the other quarterfinal game, fourth-seed Babson College got by fifth-seed Springfield College, 76-69. Babson will face number one WPI in the other semifinal game on Saturday (1 p.m.) at WPI.

Sophomores Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, Va.) had 14 points and Ben Stehle (Newton, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points and a team-high seven boards to lead Wheaton.

Sophomore Mark Alexander's (Providence, R.I.) 18 points led Clark (12-13). Senior D.J. Brinn and junior Sal DeMarco (Queens, N.Y.) added 12 points each, while junior Peter Normadin (Westminster, Mass.) and senior Pat Ochoa (Springfield, Mass.) finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Normandin grabbed a team-best six boards.

The Cougars took their last lead on a lay-up by Alexander (66-65) with 6:34 left to play. Wheaton scored the next seven points for a 72-66 advantage before two straight baskets from Alexander, including a cross-court pass from Normandin, brought Clark within two (70-72) with 3:29 remaining.

Coppola's jumper and Stehle's put-back pushed Wheaton's lead back up to six (76-70) at the 2:30 mark, but Clark rallied with two big shots in the final minutes. A hoop by Alexander and Normandin's basket in traffic made it a two-point (74-76) game with 1:18 left to play.

Both teams had several chances to pull ahead in the closing seconds. Following a Wheaton timeout, Coppola turned the ball over underneath with 58.8 remaining. Clark got the ball back, but Brinn's jumper was off the mark. On the ensuing possession, Leo's two-point attempt was off target and Brinn grabbed the rebound. With 10.6 left to play, Alexander was called on an offensive foul in the Cougars next possession. Following a timeout, DiGiovanna, who entered the game during the break, was fouled. He hit both free throws to seal the victory.

Wheaton hit 18 of its 19 shots from the line in the game.

Clark hit 8-of-14 shots from three-point range en route to a slim 45-42 half-time lead.

Trailing by six (15-21), the Cougars used a 17-6 run to take a 32-27 lead at the 7:04 mark. The stretch featured three treys from Brinn and a three-ball from Normandin and Ochoa.

Wheaton regained the lead (36-35) with a 9-3 spurt highlighted by five points at the free throw line. However, Clark closed out the half scoring 10 of the final 16 points for the three-point advantage.

Clark, which held a slim 29-28 advantage on the boards, shot 50.9% from the field to Wheatons 51.9%.