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Men's Basketball Falls to Wheelock 70-67

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.- The Wheelock College men’s basketball team got back in the win column with a tight 70-67 non-conference victory over Lasell College at Brunelli Court. Sophomore forward Anthony Williams (White Plains, N.Y.) led the way with a monster effort, pouring in 24 points to go with 20 rebounds as the Wildcats improved to 2-7. The Lasers drop to 2-6 on the season.

Men's Basketball Falls to Wheelock 70-67
December 13, 2014
Box Score

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.- Lasell College fell to Wheelock College 70-67 in non-conference men's basketball action at Brunelli Court. The Lasers drop to 2-6 on the season, while Sophomore forward Anthony Williams (White Plains, N.Y.) poured in 24 points to improve the Wildcats to 2-7. 

In a first half that featured five lead changes and three ties, Williams and some timely 3-point shooting helped keep Wheelock in the game. The hosts' largest deficit of the period was four when a lay-up by sophomore Yordan Villalon (Miami, Fla.) made it 33-29 with 8:21 on the clock.

The Wildcats responded right back with a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Derek Fournier (Johnston, R.I.) and a jumper by classmate guard Matthew Eason (East Hartford, Conn.) to knot it at 23-23. That sparked a quick 8-2 spurt for Wheelock that gave them their largest lead of the period, 31-25.

Lasell would not go away and fought to an 8-2 run of their own that tied it back up at 33-33. Still, Williams worked the offensive glass and put back a missed lay-up to give the Wildcats a 35-33 lead at the break. Williams already had a double-double at halftime with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The second half saw Wheelock look to pull away. After Fournier and junior guard Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) traded 3-pointers to make it 42-38 in favor of the home squad, the Wildcats embarked on a 12-2 surge to give them their first double-digit advantage of the contest, 54-40.

A lay-up by rookie guard Blake McNamara (Rutland, Mass.) with 9:43 remaining gave Wheelock their largest lead of the afternoon, 61-45. However, the Lasers would not go down quietly and used a 22-7 run to cut their deficit to one point, 68-67, with 38 seconds to go.

On the ensuing Wildcats possession, a turnover gave the visitors a chance to take their first lead since the first half but a turnover of their own with just nine ticks remaining gave it right back to Wheelock. Junior forward Joe Reedy (Orlando, Fl.) stepped to the charity stripe and calmly drained two free throws to put his squad up 70-67. Lasell missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Wildcats came away with the win.

Williams led four Wildcats in double-figures with his 24 points. His 20 rebounds also tied a school-record for most rebounds in a single game. Sophomore guard Nicholas Fenton (East Hartford, Conn.) netted 13 points while Fournier had 12 and McNamara added a career-high 10 off the bench. Fenton had a game-high seven assists.

The Lasers were led by senior guard Mike Vallone (Wallingford, Conn.) with 13 points while Villalon had 12 to join him in double-figures. Junior forward Pat Marchand (Cranston, R.I.) pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

Wheelock returns to action in 2015 with a home game against Mount Ida on Saturday January 3rd at 1:00 p.m. Lasell faces off against Johnson & Wales in a conference matchup at home with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.