Tonight's game at The Golden Dome marked the season opener for both teams. With the victory, Wheaton advances to tomorrow's championship contest versus host Rutgers-Newark at 4:00 p.m. The Scarlet Raiders downed Oneonta State University, 59-49 in the second game.
In addition to setting their program mark for points in a half, the Lyons' 105 points are the eighth-highest total in school history. Wheaton only trailed in the early minutes of the game, until senior tri-captain Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) buried one of his four three-point buckets that turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead with 17:36 to play. The Lyons went on an 18-4 run to take a 20-8 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 36 points.
Wheaton was impressive on both ends of the floor in the opening half, shooting 24-of-40 (.600) from the field, 8-of-12 (.667) from behind the three-point arc and 12-of-15 (.800) from the free throw line. The Blue and White's defensive intensity also forced 17 turnovers in the stanza and 29 for the game. The Crusaders shot well from the field, but were unable to match Wheaton basket for basket.
Stanton poured in a dozen of his game-high 20 points in the opening 20 minutes of play, hitting 5-of-7 shots from the floor including 2-of-3 from the arc. Junior guard Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) made 5-of-6 from field and both of his three-point attempts to net 16 of his 18 points before the break. He also had all five of his assists in the first half to push him into a tie for fifth on the all-time assist list with Dave Miller at 216. Senior tri-captain Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) dumped in 15 of his 17 points in the opening period, hitting 3-of-5 from three-point territory.
Vega, who entered the game ranked fifth on the school's all-time scoring list, upped his career total to 1,235 points, just one behind Luke Gordon for fourth place. Sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) rounded out Wheaton's four double-figure scorers with 11 points (3-6 FG, 4-4 FT) to go along with his game-high six assists. Kelly led the way in steals with four, while Stanton pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. The Lyons held a 40-28 advantage on the boards while only committing 13 turnovers.
For Eastern Nazarene, senior Edson Cardoso (Dorchester, MA/Lexington Christian Academy) netted all of his team-high 14 points in the opening half. Sophomore Dave Duda (New Milford, CT/New Milford) chipped in 11 points, while senior Larry Kearney (Raleigh, NC/Sanderson) and freshman Luc Jasmin (Pawtucket, RI/Tolman) scored 10 points apiece. Kearney added a team-high five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Newspaper Box Score Eastern Nazarene vs Wheaton College 11/19/04 5:30 p.m. at The Golden Dome, Newark, NJ At The Golden Dome, Newark, NJ WHEATON COLLEGE 105, EASTERN NAZARENE 67 EASTERN NAZARENE (0-1) Edson Cardoso 5-11 2-2 14; Dave Duda 5-8 1-2 11; Luc Jasmin 5-9 0-0 10; Larry Kearney 4-8 1-2 10; David Chrisos 1-1 2-2 5; Jean-Paul Marcellus 2-4 1-2 5; Will Harvey 2-6 1-2 5; Jeff Olivier 2-3 0-1 4; Christian Corey 1-2 0-0 3; Garrett Sapienza 0-0 0-0 0; Mark Abiem 0-1 0-1 0; Derrick Bell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 8-14 67. WHEATON COLLEGE (1-0) Mike Stanton 7-10 2-2 20; Sean Kelly 5-6 6-7 18; Josean Vega 7-15 0-0 17; Brian Zukowski 3-6 4-4 11; Mark Ledwell 3-5 2-5 8; Jake Otto 2-6 4-4 8; Eric Johnston 2-4 3-3 7; Brent DiGiovanna 0-3 5-8 5; Brian Cerone 1-4 2-3 4; Joe Lee 1-2 0-0 3; Nick Fradiani 1-5 0-0 2; Justin Brown 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 33-72 28-36 105. Eastern Nazarene.............. 35 32 - 67 Wheaton College............... 68 37 - 105 3-point goals-Eastern Nazarene 5-13 (Edson Cardoso 2-6; David Chrisos 1-1; Christian Corey 1-2; Larry Kearney 1-1; Will Harvey 0-1; Derrick Bell 0-1; Jean-Paul Marcellus 0-1), Wheaton College 11-21 (Mike Stanton 4-5; Josean Vega 3-6; Sean Kelly 2-2; Joe Lee 1-2; Brian Zukowski 1-2; Brian Cerone 0-1; Nick Fradiani 0-1; Justin Brown 0-2). Fouled out--Eastern Nazarene-Luc Jasmin; Dave Duda, Wheaton College-None. Rebounds-Eastern Nazarene 28 (Larry Kearney 5), Wheaton College 40 (Mike Stanton 7). Assists-Eastern Nazarene 20 (Will Harvey 5), Wheaton College 21 (Brian Zukowski 6). Total fouls-Eastern Nazarene 26, Wheaton College 14. A-80