NASHUA, NH - The Wheelock College men's basketball team played its third overtime contest in eight games this winter on Saturday, succumbing late in a 79-77 loss to Daniel Webster College during New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at Vagge Gymnasium. The Wildcats had their three-game winning streak snapped in falling to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the league, as two of their defeats have now come in extra sessions. The Eagles moved to 6-3 and 2-0.
Wheelock, which was gunning for its first 2-0 conference start in the four-year history of the program, saw junior Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) post his second straight 20-point game, and fourth of the year, tallying exactly 20 to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) put together his first collegiate double-double thanks to career highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) had 15 points, nine boards and five steals, while junior Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) added 11 points and five assists. Senior Patsy DiNuzzo (Beaver, PA/Beaver) hit a trio of three-pointers off the bench for nine points, and junior Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) had four assists and three steals.
In a game that featured 19 lead changes and 10 ties, Wheelock held a wide 20-2 advantage in second-chance points thanks to a 47-37 rebounding lead. Daniel Webster was buoyed by 12 three-pointers and 11-for-15 free-throw shooting. Eagle senior Chris Hanson (Salem, MA/Salem) led all scorers, shooting 6-of-13 from three-point range en route to totaling 26 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Keith Speed (Columbus, OH/Reynoldsburg) notched 19 points and five assists, while senior Eric Suarez (Brooklyn, NY/Roosevelt) finished with 14 points and nine boards.
A pair of Kaim free throws gave Wheelock a 68-63 edge with 2:27 to go in regulation before Hanson hit two threes 53 seconds apart, but a Kashouh freebie knotted the teams at 69 with 46 ticks remaining. Each team took a short-lived lead during the opening four minutes of the extra session, including when the hosts' three-point advantage was wiped out thanks to Rice's three-point play with 1:40 left. With his team again down three, Rice hit another big shot, canning a triple to knot the game at 77 with 27 seconds remaining. However, Suarez knocked down two free throws with 5.9 ticks to go, and Wheelock missed a tying attempt just before the buzzer.
Speed twice hit three-pointers during the opening half to give the Eagles a five-point lead, the largest advantage for either team until Rice's jumper capped a 9-0 run and made it 44-38 in favor of Wheelock at 15:12 of the second half. The Wildcats twice pushed their lead to 10, for the final time on a DiNuzzo three at 10:42, before Daniel Webster used a 13-2 run to go back ahead, 58-57, with 6:22 left. The visitors twice forged back in front by five points, including on Kaim's freebies.
The Wildcats finish up the first semester on Tuesday with a 6 p.m. non-league contest at Mount Ida College.