NORTON, Mass. – Senior guard Alex Carlisle (Saint Johnsbury, Vt.) erupted for a school-record 46 points to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team to a 85-82 victory over visiting Roger Williams University this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass. The Lyons have won five of their last six and improve to 5-3 on the season, while the Hawks suffer their first defeat and fall to 3-1.
Carlisle supplanted the former scoring mark of 41 set by Anthony Coppola vs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology on February 16, 2011. His total is also the third-most points in a game by any player in NCAA Division III this season.
Wheaton continued its hot shooting, hitting 56.1% (37-66) of its shots to register its fourth straight game with a 51% or better shooting effort from the floor. The Lyons took care of the basketball as well, committing a season-low seven turnovers for their lowest total since seven miscues vs. Babson College on February 9, 2019.
Carlisle was 21-32 from the floor to obliterate the school standard for field goals made in a game for Wheaton, surpassing the former record of 15 shared by Coppola (11/18/08 vs. Salve Regina) and Will Hawkins (1/13/90 vs. Bates). He scored 23 points in each half and added nine rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot for the game. He is the only player in the nation to have scored 18 or more points in the first eight games of 2021-22 and has netted 26 or more points in each of his last seven outings. Junior guard Evan Cook (Dunstable, Mass.) netted 16 points on an efficient 6-8 from the field to go with four rebounds, two assists and a game-high three steals. First year forward Duncan Bubar (Newton, Mass.) chipped in with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
Senior guard Eli Harris (Falmouth, Mass.) led Roger Williams with 23 points on 8-15 from the floor and added five boards, an assist and a steal, while first year forward Will MacDonald (York, Maine) came off the bench to net 17 points to go with eight rebounds and an assist. Sophomore guard Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.) contributed with 12 points, two assists, a rebound and a steal.
The Lyons held a 64-57 lead at the 11-minute mark of the second half, but the Hawks ripped off eight straight points, capped by a lay-up from sophomore forward Nate Lopes (Scituate, Mass.) to give the visitors a 65-64 edge with 9:29 showing in the second half. Wheaton responded with eight unanswered points of its own to reclaim the lead for good, including six from Carlisle, at 72-65 with 7:26 to go in the game.
Carlisle canned a pull-up jumper at the 5:08 mark of the second half to give him 42 points for the night and the new school record. The Lyons looked to have a comfortable 83-74 advantage with 2:25 to play in the contest, but Roger Williams wasn't ready to go home yet. The visitors reeled off eight points in a row and pulled to within one when junior guard John Ah Kao converted one of two free throws with 10 ticks left on the second half clock.
Wheaton inbounded the ball and Cook broke free down the floor to receive a break away pass for a lay-up for the final points of the night.
The Hawks held an early 7-4 lead at 16:35 of the first half, before the Lyons put together a 18-5 stretch, fueled by seven points from Cook, to take a 22-12 lead with 12:18 to go in the half. The home team's largest lead was short-lived as Roger Williams outscored its hosts, 16-6, over the next six-plus minutes to pull even at 28-28 with 5:51 remaining in the stanza. Bubar made a driving layup to give Wheaton the lead, which was increased by as many as six, before the Lyons took a 46-43 lead into the break, following a Carlisle lay-up with no time remaining.
Wheaton matched its biggest lead after a 7-0 run gave it a 53-43 cushion with 16:38 left in the second stanza. The Lyons later maintained a 57-48 advantage at the 14:05 mark, but the Hawks scored nine of the next 11 points to cut the deficit to a field goal at 59-57. Wheaton scored the next five points before Roger Williams put together its stretch to take it's only lead of the second half.
The Lyons return to action on Tuesday, November 30 when they host Lasell College at 7:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, while the Hawks host University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on November 28 at 2:00 p.m.