CHESTNUT HILL, MA - A late 10-0 run propelled the Wheelock College men's basketball team past Daniel Webster College, 79-66, on Saturday during a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) contest on Senior Day at Pine Manor College's Brunelli Court. The Wildcats, who assured themselves of claiming no worse than the fifth seed in the upcoming league tournament, improved to 10-12 overall and 6-6 in the league. The Eagles slipped to 10-13 and 4-9.
Junior Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) recorded his third double-double in four games for Wheelock, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor and 8-of-10 at the charity stripe en route to 23 points, 13 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Classmate Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) went 8-for-9 on free-throw tries while scoring 18 points, and senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) notched 14 points in his final regular-season home game.
Junior Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) added eight points, and classmate Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) contributed a well-rounded six assists, six rebounds and three steals. Senior Patsy DiNuzzo (Beaver, PA/Beaver) joined Main as the only Wildcats to appear in 100 career contests. Wheelock shot 5-of-12 from three-point range (41.2 percent) against a team that entered the week ranked 12th in Division III in three-point defense.
Daniel Webster senior Chris Voukides (Salem, NH/Salem) scored 17 points, all in the first half, while hitting five three-pointers, and sophomore John Hickson (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) collected 12 points off the bench. Senior Eric Suarez (Brooklyn, NY/Roosevelt) totaled 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two rejections, while sophomore Keith Speed (Columbus, OH/Reynoldsburg) had 11 points and five helpers. Wheelock held the Eagles to 11-of-43 shooting following a 13-for-19 start.
The teams played through 14 lead changes and nine ties during the contest, with the final deadlock coming at 61 thanks to a pair of Hickson free throws with 5:39 to play. Wheelock countered with 10 unanswered points in a 1:59 stretch, as Rice snapped the tie with two freebies before capping the run with a three-pointer at 2:55.
Daniel Webster rushed out to an early 12-6 advantage by 16:01 of the opening stanza behind a pair of Voukides threes before the Wildcats used defense to spark a later 9-0 run. During that time, Kashouh twice picked up steals before dishing off to sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston), and a Kaim takeaway led to a Rice jumper that gave the hosts a 19-16 edge by 11:17. The teams exchanged the lead six times in an ensuing 2:53 span, and Speed twice forced ties prior to the end of the stanza. With 1:22 remaining, sophomore Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, MA/Austin Prep) canned a three to put Wheelock back on top, and it headed into the locker room with a 39-38 edge.
Neither team led by more than four points during the opening 16:20 of the second period. Main hit a freebie at 13:03 to cap a 5-0 run, giving Wheelock a 48-44 advantage, and after another Higgins triple made it 55-52, senior Omari Wright (Laurelton, NY/Bryant) hit a go-ahead three in the middle of a 7-1 Eagles spurt. Suarez's jumper at 8:02 provided the visitors a 59-56 edge before the hosts' large rally.
Wheelock returns to the hardwood tomorrow at perennial regional power Salem State University for a 1 p.m. non-conference game. The Vikings have won 11 straight contests.