BROOKLINE, MA - The No. 5 Wheelock College men's basketball team cut a 12-point deficit to five in the closing moments before slipping in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament quarterfinal, 68-61, against No. 4 Newbury College on Tuesday evening at Hellenic College's Pappas Athletic Center. The Wildcats finished the season 10-16, while the Nighthawks advanced to Friday's semifinal round with an 11-14 mark.

In the teams' first postseason meeting, Wheelock played close with yet another opponent but suffered its 10th loss by nine points or fewer this winter. A first-year program in 2007-08, the Wildcats capped a third consecutive double-digit-win campaign with their first defeat in three all-time quarterfinal contests. The Nighthawks, now 10-5 since a 1-9 start, knocked off Wheelock for the third time this season, including for the second time by seven points or less, and will head to No. 1 Becker College, which is ranked 23rd in the D3hoops.com national poll.

Junior Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) netted 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting to pace the visitors, while classmate Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) had his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards. During his final contest wearing blue and gold, senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) notched nine points and three assists, finishing his career with 1,180 points. Classmate Patsy DiNuzzo (Beaver, PA/Beaver) and junior Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) added six points apiece, as six Wildcats scored between two and six points.

Newbury senior John Rowley Jr. (Hartford, CT/Rockville) led all scorers with 18 points, going 10-of-11 on free-throw tries, while sophomore Peterson Bernard (Boston, MA/Madison Park Technical Vocational) tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds. Classmate Timothy Young (Brockton, MA/Brockton) added 11 points.

Points by four different players keyed an early 8-1 run for Wheelock after it allowed the first three points, and the visitors broke a later 14-all tie with eight straight points. Sophomore Bashir Hudson's (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) three-point play snapped the deadlock before DiNuzzo canned a three, and sophomore Adam Russo (Arlington, MA/Arlington) scored off a dish from Main to make it 22-14 at 10:27 of the opening half. Russo also played an important defensive role, drawing two charges during the first 1:37 he was in the game.

Rowley scored six points during an ensuing 10-3 run, creating a 25-24 contest, but Kaim capped a quick 6-0 spurt with a jumper. Bernard scored a pair of buckets during a half-ending 6-0 run for his team, leaving Wheelock ahead by a 31-30 count at halftime. Nine different Wildcats scored in the opening stanza, helping their squad shoot 51.9 percent. Newbury received 12 points from Rowley and nine from Bernard.

A jumper from Rice 1:03 into the second stanza pushed Wheelock's lead to 33-30 before the Nighthawks put together a 12-0 run during a 2:22 span, forging ahead by a 42-33 count. DiNuzzo later converted a three-point play before the visitors crept within 44-39 by 14:43 on a Pierce freebie, but Young scored seven points to spark a 9-2 run for the hosts, as they extended their lead to 53-41 with 11:45 remaining.

Wheelock didn't trail by fewer than nine again until Pierce canned a jumper at 5:09, making it 63-56, and he countered a Bernard free throw with another hoop at 3:08 that brought his team within six. Rice answered Bernard's ensuing bucket with a three-pointer, bringing Wheelock within 66-61 with 2:21 to go. However, a Young jumper 20 seconds later completed the scoring, as the visitors missed their final five shots.