NEW LONDON, CT- After allowing an average of 54.3 points during its last three New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games, the Wheaton College men's basketball team surrendered a season-high 90 against the United States Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday night in Merriman Gymnasium.
The Lyons fall to 6-9 overall and 2-3 in league play, while the Bears improve to 8-8 and 3-2.
Senior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) turned in a team-best 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while freshman Will Bayliss (Manchester, NH/Tilton School) posted a season-high 19 points with five assists. Junior Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI/Bishop Hendricken) finished with 15 markers, seven boards, four assists and four steals.
Freshman Brian Grossman (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) and sophomore Brian Johnson (Roxbury, MA/Brimmer and May School) had nine and seven points, respectively, while junior Shawn Daily (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Saint Michael Academy) grabbed seven rebounds.
Coast Guard senior Jevon James (Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands/New Mexico Military Institute) racked up game highs of 25 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. Freshman Devonte Weems (Chesapeake Beach, MD/Huntingtown) recorded 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, classmate Kevin Sowers (Monrovia, MD/Urbana) notched 18 markers and six helpers, while senior Adam Radtke (Valley City, OH/Brunswick) finished with 14 points.
The hosts scored the game's first six points, as Wheaton didn't get on the board until Degnan hit a jumper at the 17:02 mark. Trailing 8-4 at 15:24, the Lyons used an 8-0 spurt over 1:29 for a 12-8 edge with 13:31 to play. Degnan and Johnson each hit triples in that stretch. Coast Guard answered with a 7-0 run and a 15-12 lead before another Blue and White three knotted the game at 15. Wheaton was behind 20-17 before the Bears scored 20 of the game's next 26 points for a commanding 40-23 advantage with 1:14 left in the first half. Coast Guard led 42-29 at the break.
In the second half, the visitors began chipping away at their deficit, narrowing the gap to six points four times before getting as close as five at 56-51 thanks to a Bayliss trey at 12:07. A Degnan three with 7:07 remaining kept the Lyons in striking distance at 64-58, and a Coppola jumper at 1:06 made it a two-possession game at 83-77. However, Wheaton didn't score again and was forced to foul, with the Bears making five of their final six shots from the charity stripe.
The Lyons wrap up the first half of their NEWMAC slate on Saturday against Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at 4:00 p.m.