02/21/2009
Men's Basketball Drops to Wheaton College in Close Bout, 84-80

NORTON, MA - The Clark University men's basketball team fell to Wheaton College, 84-80, in a key New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference game on Saturday, but clinched the fifth seed in the upcoming conference tournament.

Freshman Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA/Worcester Academy) hit two free throws with 2:47 left to provide the 16th and final lead change of the second half, as Wheaton secured the third seed in the NEWMAC Tournament.

The Lyons completed the regular season at 14-11 overall and 6-6 in the league. Clark slipped to 10-15 and 4-8, as each team scored 80 for the fourth time in the last eight meetings. Wheaton will host number-six Babson College on Wednesday in the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament, while the Cougars will travel to fourth-seed Springfield College.

After sophomore Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) nailed a three-pointer at the first-half horn to send Wheaton into the locker room up 34-33, providing the first lead change of the game, the teams swapped advantages seven times in the opening 2:51 of the second stanza. Neither led by more than four until Clark senior Peter Normandin (Westminster, MA/New Hampton School) hit a pair of free throws to make it 55-49 at 9:35.

The Cougars twice went up by as many as seven, but Wheaton charged back, with a pair of Weeks free throws making the score 66-65 before Sasso converted a three-point play to knot the contest at 68 with 5:11 left. Weeks put the Lyons on top with a freebie at 4:43, before his critical free throws gave Wheaton the final advantage. Weeks later hit a jumper as the shot clock expired, making it 77-72, and Sasso drew a charge in transition with his team clinging to a three-point edge and 49 seconds remaining. The Cougars came within 80-79 on a pair at the line from Mark Alexander (Providence, RI) with 11 seconds left, but Sasso and junior Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) each hit two free throws in the final 9.2 ticks before Leo grabbed a board and ran out the clock.

Clark started the game 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, pushing out to an 11-3 advantage 3:37 into the contest thanks to scoring from four different players. Wheaton slowly chipped away, coming within 15-12 after Leo provided a tip-in and a three-pointer on consecutive possessions. Leo's three at 12:56 proved to be the last bucket by either team for a little more than six minutes, as they combined for five free throws while missing 16 straight shots during a 5:33 span before Weeks' tip-in at 6:51 brought the Lyons within 19-15.

Clark grabbed a 27-20 lead on Jonathan Phillips jumper (Shrewsbury, MA) at 4:35, but Sasso and sophomore Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) tallied 1:02 apart to make it 31-29. With seven seconds left, Sasso buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lyons their first lead, 34-33 at halftime.

Wheaton went 28-of-34 on free-throw tries while holding Clark to 6-of-28 three-point shooting. Coppola paced the team with 20 points, Weeks had 15 points and four assists, Leo tallied 14 points, and Sasso notched 14 points and a career-high-tying seven rebounds. Senior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) totaled 12 points and six boards, while junior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) snagged seven caroms. The Lyons held a 68-4 advantage in scoring from their bench players.

The Cougars, who had just one first-half turnover and eight for the game, were led by freshman Brian Vayda's (Sturbridge, MA/Tantasqua Regional) 21 points and 14 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the year. Junior Mark Alexander (Providence, RI/Marianapolis Prep) added 19 points and seven boards, going 12-of-16 from the charity stripe, while Normandin had 16 points and seven caroms. Junior Chris LoPiano (Franklin Square, NY/Saint Dominic) went 4-of-8 from deep for a season-high 16 points.

Courtesy of Wheaton College Sports Information