Santos' early lay up gave Bridgewater State the first bucket of the game, but Wheaton senior Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) responded with a three-pointer to give the Lyons the 3-2 lead. After four lead changes and two ties, Wheaton held a slim 13-11 edge with 15:50 on the clock. A free throw by BSC senior Mike Rondeau (South Easton, MA/Oliver Ames) made the score 13-12, but the Lyons then went on a 9-0 tear to bulge their lead to 10 with 12:21 to go.
Stanton later drained another three to give the hosts their biggest lead of the half at 29-16 with 8:46 remaining, but the Bears countered Wheaton's attack with 13 of the game's next 15 points, slashing the Lyon lead to two points with 5:25 on the clock. Bridgewater got as close as 35-34 on a Tom Cuddihy (Scituate, MA/Scituate) trey, but a 12-4 Wheaton run in the period's waning minutes gave the hosts a 47-38 halftime lead. Santos led the Bears with 21 of their 38 first-half points.
Junior James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School) scored the Lyons' first five points to start the second half and in the process extended Wheaton's lead to 52-40, but a pair of three's off the hot hand of Santos kept the Bears in striking distance. A Bridgewater State trey by senior Matt Badiali (Raynham, MA/Bridgewater-Raynham) pulled the Bears to within five at the 16:01 minute mark, but a 14-4 Wheaton run capped by a Stanton three put the visitors in a 70-55 hole with 10:32 to play.
Determined to mount a comeback, Santos scored the game's next basket to eclipse the 1,000-point mark on a lay up from freshman Matt Schnider (Rockland, MA/Rockland). The Lyons then reeled off four straight points from that point forward and never looked back, as they held onto a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
Among Wheaton's top performers was junior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School), who fell three rebounds shy of a triple-double with 17 points, a season-high tying 11 assists and seven rebounds. Kelly posted his fourth double-double of the season, while Stanton picked up 15 points and six rebounds in the victory.
Sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) and Greenslit contributed 14 and a season-best 13 points, respectively, while freshman Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) scored 12 points with seven rebounds. Classmate Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and senior tri-captain Mark Ledwell (Charlemont, MA/Mohawk Trail Regional) led all players on the glass with a career-high nine boards.
Santos was one of Bridgewater State's two double-figure scorers on the afternoon, netting 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Junior David Rukstalis (Norwood, MA/Norwood) recorded 15 points while falling just short of a double-double with eight rebounds.
Wheaton will begin New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Thursday, January 6 against Clark University. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start in Emerson.
Newspaper Box Score Bridgewater State College vs Wheaton College 12/11/04 3:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. At Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. WHEATON COLLEGE 94, BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE 77 BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE (3-4) Peter Santos 11-17 3-3 29; David Rukstalis 6-13 2-4 15; Tom Cuddihy 3-10 0-0 9; Mike Rondeau 2-5 3-4 7; Chris Hayes 3-6 0-0 6; Matt Badiali 2-6 0-0 5; Brian Adamczyk 2-7 0-0 4; Derek Thompson 1-2 0-2 2; Tim Ryan 0-0 0-0 0; Cliff Furtado 0-2 0-0 0; Matt Schnider 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-68 8-13 77. WHEATON COLLEGE (7-2) Sean Kelly 7-14 3-5 17; Mike Stanton 6-18 0-0 15; Brian Zukowski 6-8 2-4 14; James Greenslit 5-6 2-2 13; Brent DiGiovanna 5-9 2-2 12; Eric Johnston 5-8 1-2 11; Mark Ledwell 1-7 2-6 4; Justin Brown 0-0 4-4 4; Nick Fradiani 0-0 2-2 2; Jake Otto 1-1 0-0 2; Brian Cerone 0-1 0-0 0; Joe Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-72 18-27 94. Bridgewater State College..... 38 39 - 77 Wheaton College............... 47 47 - 94 3-point goals-Bridgewater State College 9-23 (Peter Santos 4-7; Tom Cuddihy 3-8; David Rukstalis 1-2; Matt Badiali 1-2; Brian Adamczyk 0-3; Chris Hayes 0-1), Wheaton College 4-14 (Mike Stanton 3-9; James Greenslit 1-2; Brian Zukowski 0-1; Sean Kelly 0-2). Fouled out--Bridgewater State College-None, Wheaton College-None. Rebounds-Bridgewater State College 38 (David Rukstalis 8), Wheaton College 38 (Mark Ledwell 9). Assists-Bridgewater State College 20 (Brian Adamczyk 6), Wheaton College 21 (Sean Kelly 11). Total fouls-Bridgewater State College 19, Wheaton College 11. A-350