Lyons turn in highest point total on the season
NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College men's basketball team ended a six-game losing skid with its 91-70 victory over Clark University on Wednesday night in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup inside Emerson Gym.
Wheaton freshman guard Agyei Gregory (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) poured in a team-high 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor including a 3-for-8 performance from behind the arc to go along with six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Classmate Quinton Dale (Winthrop, Mass./Taft School) tallied 19 points and hauled in four rebounds, while senior guard Will Bayliss (Manchester, N.H./Tilton School) added six points and a game-high nine assists to move into sole possession of fourth place all-time on the career assists list at Wheaton. Bayliss needed just one assist entering tonight's contest to surpass Arnulfo DeLaCruz '00 who had 267 assists in his four-year career.
Off the bench, freshman forward Zach Parsons (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) and junior guard Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) were the difference for the Lyons. Parsons turned in his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds (four offensive) in 21 minutes of action. Capstick posted a superb all-around game with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, seven rebounds, a career-high six assists and just one turnover.
Clark senior forward Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) paced all scorers with 29 points (9-for-17 FG), three rebounds and one assist. Classmate Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) added ten points, three rebounds, four steals and two helpers. Sophomore forward Corey Gomes (Uxbridge, Mass./Uxbridge) added seven points, two blocks and one rebound in six minutes of play.
Wheaton posted a season-high 91 points shooting 52.9-percent (37-for-70) from the field in the contest alongside a season-high 23 assists on 37 made field goals. The Lyons also won the matchup on the boards, 43-29, registered a 50-24 differential in the paint and a 20-5 margin in second chance points. Clark shot 40.3-percent (25-for-62) from the field, 37.0-percent from beyond the arc and nine steals into 14 points off turnovers.
Ahead 34-33 at the 4:07 mark of the first half, Wheaton used a 14-5 run to take a 48-38 lead into the break. Capstick fueled the run with nine points, while Gregory chipped in with a three-pointer with 46-seconds left to play in the stanza and Parsons buried a layup on a feed by Capstick to start the run.
Before the run to close out the first half, Dale slightly pushed momentum in Wheaton's favor at the 6:13 mark stealing a pass near the three-point arc and taking it coast-to-cast for a fast break layup to give the Lyons an eight-point advantage (34-26).
Wheaton's offense didn't cool off in the second half as the hosts pushed out to a 20-point margin (60-43) at the 15:15 mark with a 15-5 run to take full control of the game. Gregory converted a pair of and-one plays, Capstick swished a trey to cap the spurt and Dale, Parsons and junior forward Mike Cannon (New York, N.Y./Hyde School) all recorded baskets.
Clark's only lead of the contest came at the 12:42 mark of the first half after Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass./Malden) put home two free throws for an 18-17 differential.
With the win, Wheaton secured its first regular season series sweep over Clark since the 2008-09 season and evened the all-time series, which dates back to 1992-93, at 20-20 overall.
Wheaton (8-12, 3-8 NEWMAC) hosts MIT this Saturday in a conference clash inside Emerson Gymnasium at 1 p.m. Clark (12-10, 3-8 NEWMAC) travels to Babson on Saturday for a NEWMAC matchup scheduled for 1 p.m.
For the latest on Wheaton College Athletics, follow the Lyons via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.