Playing in only their seventh home game of the season, the Lyons fall to 13-8 overall and 4-5 in conference play, while the Pride, winners of two straight league games, avenged their loss to Wheaton on January 29 and in the process saw their overall record improve to 7-14 on the season and 3-5 in the league.
Wheaton's Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's), who moved into sole possession of sixth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 17 points on the night, tied the contest at two points apiece with 19:27 to play, but Springfield used a 13-3 run and never looked back. The Pride extended their lead out to 21-9 on a jumper by freshman Damian Farley (Natick, MA/Natick) with 11:49 remaining. The Lyons cut into their deficit and got as close as 30-27 thanks to a jump shot from senior Scott Mahan (Bridgewater, MA/Cardinal Spellman) with 2:53 showing. Springfield then scored four of the next six points to take a 34-29 edge into the half.
In the second half, the Pride were clicking on all cylinders to open the stanza with a 16-6 run to balloon their advantage to 50-35 with 14:40 to go. Springfield had six different players score during that spurt. The hosts managed to claw back into the contest and eventually trimmed their deficit to five points on two occasions, with the latter taking place at 71-66 with 41 ticks on the clock. Having to foul, the Lyons saw Springfield's Derek Yvon (E. Longmeadow, MA/Cathedral) knock down three of four free throw attempts to secure the win. The Pride finished the game shooting nearly 57 percent, including going 15-of-24 (.625) from the field in the second half alone.
Mahan posted a double-double performance with game-high totals of 25 points (10-16 FG) and 10 rebounds, while Vega had a pair of steals to go alongside his 17 points. Senior Frankie Whall (Roslindale, MA/Cheshire Academy) finished with seven points and seven rebounds.
Yvon, who entered the game averaging 19.8 points per contest, went for 24 points (7-12 FG, 9-10 FT) with four assists. Sophomores Mike DeCesar (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxborough) and Joel Aponte (Windsor, CT/Windsor) rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 and 12 points respectively. Farley finished with nine points, while first-year Anthony Pizzo (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) had seven points, seven rebounds and five assists in the victory.
The Lyons will play their final non-conference game of the season Thursday night, when the Blue and White travel to Bridgewater to face local foe Bridgewater State College at 7:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Springfield College vs Wheaton College 2/10/04 7:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. At Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE 74, WHEATON COLLEGE 69 SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE (7-14) Derek Yvon 7-12 9-10 24; Mike DeCesar 6-7 0-0 13; Joel Aponte 6-11 0-1 12; Damian Farley 4-7 1-2 9; Anthony Pizzo 2-3 3-4 7; Jason O'Tash 3-9 1-2 7; Kyle Marian 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-51 14-19 74. WHEATON COLLEGE (13-8) Scott Mahan 10-16 5-7 25; Josean Vega 6-18 4-5 17; Frankie Whall 3-7 1-2 7; Mike Stanton 2-9 0-0 5; Richard Henninger 2-6 1-2 5; Sean Kelly 2-6 0-0 4; James Greenslit 2-3 0-0 4; Brian Zukowski 1-2 0-0 2; Mark Ledwell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-69 11-16 69. Springfield College........... 34 40 - 74 Wheaton College............... 29 40 - 69 3-point goals-Springfield College 2-15 (Derek Yvon 1-5; Mike DeCesar 1-2; Anthony Pizzo 0-1; Jason O'Tash 0-4; Joel Aponte 0-3), Wheaton College 2-15 (Mike Stanton 1-4; Josean Vega 1-7; Sean Kelly 0-2; James Greenslit 0-1; Brian Zukowski 0-1). Fouled out--Springfield College-Joel Aponte, Wheaton College-Sean Kelly. Rebounds-Springfield College 27 (Anthony Pizzo 7), Wheaton College 36 (Scott Mahan 10). Assists-Springfield College 19 (Anthony Pizzo 5; Mike DeCesar 5), Wheaton College 13 (Sean Kelly 6). Total fouls-Springfield College 15, Wheaton College 19.