LEICESTER, MA - The Wheelock College men's basketball team clinched the fifth seed in the upcoming New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament by falling at regional power Becker College, 84-70, on Tuesday in Leicester Gymnasium. The Wildcats slipped to 10-14 overall and 6-7 in the league, while the Hawks are now 21-3 and 13-0. Becker, which had already clinched the NECC regular-season crown, is two votes short of being ranked nationally by D3hoops.com and stands sixth in the NCAA Northeast region poll. The postseason begins next Tuesday.
Wheelock sought its first victory against the Hawks after falling by only two points a little more than one week ago, as senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) turned in 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Junior Elliot Hernandez (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) shot 5-of-7 from two-point range for 11 points, and sophomore Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, MA/Austin Prep) was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in scoring nine points.
Juniors Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) and Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) and sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) each had seven points and four rebounds, while Hudson added two steals. Pierce, Rice and junior Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) had three assists each.
Becker shot 71.4 percent in the opening stanza, including 8-of-9 from three-point land, in rushing out to a 50-31 halftime lead. Senior Rajai Leggett (New Haven, CT/Mark T. Sheehan) finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while freshman Tyler Roberson (Irvington, NJ/St. Mary of the Assumption) notched 16 points and four helpers while going 4-of-6 from three. Juniors Ricky Clark (New Britain, CT/New Britain) and Terrance Favors (Boston, MA/Bedford) each shot 3-for-5 on treys, with Clark notching 15 points and Favors totaling 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The hosts scored the first eight points before consecutive Pierce hoops made it 8-4, but the Hawks netted 17 of the next 19 points to pull away. Hernandez's put-back accounted for the lone Wheelock points in that time, and another bucket by Hernandez cut the visitors' deficit to 27-11 with 8:16 remaining in the opening half. A bucket from junior Patrick O'Connor (Spencer, MA/David Prouty) with 34 ticks left both provided a 17-point margin just before halftime.
After Becker went ahead by as many as 27, freshman Andrew Kirkman (Dartmouth, MA/Dartmouth) and junior Jordan Pina (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) provided hoops 42 seconds apart with a little less than eight minutes to go to bring Wheelock within 20. Higgins canned his third three of the game with 3:35 left to spark a game-ending 6-0 run, with senior Patsy DiNuzzo's (Beaver, PA/Beaver) jumper with 1:01 remaining capping the scoring.
Wheelock closes out its regular-season slate against its second regionally-ranked opponent in as many games, heading to Elms College on Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest. The Blazers sit seventh in the NCAA Northeast poll.