Lyons out rebound Corsairs to secure first victory of 2012-13 

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (November 16, 2012) – Senior forward Phil Gensicki (North Haven, Conn./Notre Dame) and sophomore forward Ryan Clinesmith (New York, N.Y./The Hill School) both poured in a team-high 12 points each to lead the Wheaton College men's basketball team to a 65-61 season opening victory over non-conference opponent UMass Dartmouth on Friday night in the first round of the Hampton Inn Classic, hosted by the Corsairs. 

Clinesmith compiled 12 points in only 13 minutes of action on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and the charity stripe. Gensicki played 15 minutes off of the bench for Wheaton netting his 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field including two 3-pointers. Gensicki also added five rebounds and one block to his stat line. 

Junior guard Will Bayliss (Manchester, N.H./Tilton School) dished out three assists, brought down six caroms, notched three steals and deposited eight points. Senior forward Brian Johnson (Roxbury, Mass./Brimmer and May School) led the Lyons in the rebounding department with 11 boards (three offensive) and nine points. 

For UMass Dartmouth, junior guard John Jenkos (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) led all scorers with 23 points going 7-of-14 from the field, 3-for-10 from beyond the arc and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Sophomore center Alex Rodrigues (Fall River, Mass./Durfee) tallied a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds (one offenseive). 

Wheaton out rebounded UMass Dartmouth, 48-37, in the contest and scored 24 points in the paint while the Corsairs scored 20 points. The Lyons utilized a 22-2 margin in bench points while also receiving six points or more from their seven different scorers. 

Sophomore guard Jaycob Morales (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) combined with Gensicki for all Wheaton's points off the bench collecting ten on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, 1-for-2 from long distance and a 3-for4 showing at the free throw line. 

The Lyons held a 30-20 advantage at the end of the first half and held on for their first win of the season with some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch. Morales canned a pair of free throws with ten seconds left to make the score 63-60 before UMass Dartmouth freshman guard Jacek Louisville (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) narrowed the gap with a one-for-two effort at the free throw line with five seconds remaining. Johnson sealed the victory for Wheaton with a pair of free throws with four seconds to go. The Lyons shot 65-percent from the line (13-for-20) in the second half and 69.7-percent overall (22-for-33) in the game. 

Wheaton (1-0, 0-0 NEWMAC) takes on Worcester State University in the championship round of the Hampton Inn Classic tomorrow at 4 p.m. UMass Dartmouth (0-1, 0-0 LEC) hosts Trinity College in the consolation matchup at 6 p.m.