CHESTNUT HILL, MA - The Wheelock College men's basketball team led Newbury College late in the opening half on Saturday during a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) contest before the Nighthawks used a quick spurt to come from behind and pull away for a 72-54 victory on Pine Manor College's Brunelli Court. The Wildcats, now 4-8 overall and 1-2 in the league, had won three of the past four series meetings. Now 2-9 and 1-1, Newbury had suffered five of its setbacks this winter by eight points or fewer.
Sophomore Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, MA/Austin Prep) paced Wheelock with a career-high 16 points, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range during 21 minutes off the bench. Senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) notched 12 points and now needs 14 to become the second player in program history with 1,000. Sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) hauled in a team-best seven rebounds, while junior Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) had six points, six boards and three steals, with five rebounds at the offensive end. Classmate Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) dished out five assists, and junior Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) swatted a pair of shots.
Sophomore Peterson Bernard (Boston, MA/Madison Park Regional Vocational Technical) tallied 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds and three blocks for Newbury, while classmate Chris Torres (Brockton, MA/Brockton) added 20 points in 25 minutes thanks to a 4-for-5 long-range performance. Senior John Rowley Jr. (Hartford, CT/Rockville) added 17 points, seven boards and five assists.
The teams played through a tight first half, with five ties and four lead changes occurring. Neither squad led by more than three points until the Wildcats turned a 10-9 deficit into an 18-12 advantage by 8:25, as a Kaim jumper capped a 9-2 run. The Nighthawks reeled off the next six points, knotting the game on freshman Justin Franks' (Mamaroneck, NY/Rye Neck) free throw at 6:18, but Kaim and Main provided consecutive hoops to make it 22-18.
Following a difficult bucket in traffic from Main at 2:29 that kept the hosts in front by a 24-21 count, Newbury went on a 14-1 run over 1:51 that spanned halftime, as Torres poured in 10 points during that time. Rowley had the other four. The Nighthawks extended their 32-25 halftime edge to as many as 20 points in the second stanza, as Rowley's fast-break dunk at 5:11 provided his team its largest advantage and its final points.
The Wildcats break for a week before hitting the road for their next four contests, starting with a game next Saturday at NECC counterpart Mitchell College at 1 p.m.