NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team's season opener against visiting Emerson College on Tuesday night proved to be a tale of two halves, as the Lyons held a 40-26 advantage at the intermission before being outscored by a 38-20 margin in the second frame en route to a 64-60 setback in Emerson Gymnasium.
Senior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown), who scored 18 points during last year's opener against Emerson, matched that in tonight's first half alone. He finished with 20 on the evening, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point stripe. Sophomore Brian Johnson (Roxbury, MA/Brimmer and May School) posted a career-high 13 points, junior Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI/Bishop Hendricken) added 11, while freshman Will Bayliss (Manchester, NH/Tilton School) dished out a game-high six assists.
For Emerson, junior Andrew Venter (Boston, MA/Mansfield) led the way with 15 points, while senior Tom Messinger (Florence, MA/Deerfield Academy) contributed 12, as he went 4-of-6 from deep. Senior Kabir Moss (Chico, CA/Chico) neared a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds, as the Lions defeated Wheaton for the fourth straight time.
After an explosive offensive showing to end the first half, the Lyons went cold to start the second frame, missing six of their initial seven shots. Wheaton finished with just six second-half field goals. After the Blue and White hit the stanza's first basket to extend its lead to 42-26, Emerson fired off 14 unanswered points in just 3:26. Ventner turned in seven points during the run, as the visitors crept to within 42-40 at 14:48.
The Lyons managed to maintain a slim edge up until a Messinger three at 4:46 knotted the contest at 53. A pair of Ventner free throws gave the Lions a 55-53 lead, their first since early in the game, before Wheaton responded with four straight points for a 57-55 edge with 3:26 to play. However, Emerson scored the game's next seven points to put things out of reach.
Trailing 4-3 with less than 16 minutes to go in the opening half, the Lyons used a 19-5 run over 9:38 for a comfortable 22-9 advantage. Coppola reeled off 11 points during that stretch, including hitting a trio of threes. The hosts led 29-17 on a Johnson triple with 3:46 to play before the intermission, but two quick treys brought Emerson to within 29-23 at 2:42. Wheaton then went off for 11 points in the final 1:48 and carried a 40-26 lead into the half.
The Lyons hit the road on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. game at Eastern Nazarene College.