BOSTON, MA - Behind the best defensive showing in program history, the Wheelock College men's basketball team knocked off perennial regional power Emerson College, 66-49, on Wednesday evening in Emerson's Brown & Plofker Gym.
In the teams' first meeting, junior Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) paced Wheelock with 14 points, seven assists to only one turnover, and six rebounds, five of which were offensive, as the Wildcats committed just 10 turnovers while holding a 47-29 rebounding advantage. They also went 13-of-15 on free-throw tries. Classmate Elliot Hernandez (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) turned in a career-high 13 points behind 4-of-6 shooting and a 4-for-4 free-throw effort in addition to snagging five boards. He had totaled 12 points in his first nine games this season.
Senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) added 12 points and six rebounds, junior Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) had a well-rounded seven points, seven boards, five helpers and two steals, while sophomore Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, MA/Austin Prep) canned two three-pointers and notched seven points. Juniors Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) and Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) each snared six rebounds.
Senior Kabir Moss (Chico, CA/Chico) was the only Lion to break into double figures, scoring 11 points, while junior Carlos Negrete (Mission Viejo, CA/Tesoro) added eight. Classmate Andrew Venter (Boston, MA/Mansfield) hauled in eight rebounds for Emerson, which committed just eight turnovers but shot 5-of-26 from three-point range and 10-for-17 from the charity stripe.
Main scored eight of Wheelock's first 10 points, and the Wildcats used a 7-0 run to grab a 14-6 advantage by 12:04 of the opening half after Kashouh knocked down a pair of free throws. Emerson countered with 11 of the next 14 points, drawing the teams even at 17 with 5:44 remaining, but freshman Paul Coucci (Dartmouth, MA/Dartmouth) nailed his first collegiate three 18 seconds later to give the visitors the final lead, sparking a 17-5 run that bridged halftime. Pierce scored six of those points, while Hernandez hit four free throws.
Moss scored four straight points early in the second stanza to draw the Lions within 36-30 at 17:23, but Rice countered with consecutive hoops 46 seconds apart to put Wheelock back up 10, and the Wildcats never again led by fewer than eight. The visitors twice stretched their advantage to as many as 20, on three-pointers by Hernandez and Higgins in the final 3:33.
Wheelock continues a four-game road swing by heading back into New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play on Saturday at Southern Vermont College at 3 p.m.