Despite Bridgewater State shooting 50 percent from the field in the opening half and limiting Wheaton to 35-percent shooting, the teams stood tied at 34 at the intermission. The Lyons went 4-of-12 from the charity stripe during the period.
The Bears maintained their accurate shooting in the second stanza, knocking down 48.5 percent of their shots, but the Lyons went 15-of-30 from the field and hit 12 free throws while outscoring the hosts, 44-41 in the half. After leading by as many as seven points, Wheaton led by three with 2.1 seconds remaining before stealing an inbounds pass and running out the clock.
For Wheaton, senior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) nearly turned in a triple-double performance with 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and junior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double while tying a career high with six helpers. Sophomore Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) recorded 16 points, and classmate Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) went 5-of-8 for 14 points and corralled seven rebounds.
Junior Derek Thompson (Hyannis, MA/Barnstable) had a strong all-around game for Bridgewater State with 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting with 10 rebounds and eight blocks, while sophomore Tom Cuddihy (Scituate, MA/Scituate) provided a game-high 22 points. Seniors David Rukstalis (Norwood, MA/Norwood) and Cliff Furtado (Dartmouth, MA/Dartmouth) added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Lyons host Connecticut College on Tuesday in a non-conference contest at 7:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Wheaton College vs Bridgewater State College 12/3/05 1:00 p.m. at Tinsley Center, Bridgewater, Mass. At Tinsley Center, Bridgewater, Mass. WHEATON COLLEGE 78, BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE 75 WHEATON COLLEGE (4-1) Sean Kelly 6-12 3-6 16; Brent DiGiovanna 6-14 4-6 16; Eric Johnston 5-8 4-6 14; Brian Zukowski 3-12 3-8 11; Kristopher Pedra 4-7 1-4 9; James Greenslit 2-8 1-2 5; Justin Brown 2-2 0-0 5; Ryan McDonough 1-2 0-1 2; Jake Otto 0-1 0-0 0; Mark Sullivan 0-2 0-0 0; David Harding 0-1 0-0 0; Patrick McDonough 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-70 16-33 78. BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE (3-3) Tom Cuddihy 8-13 3-5 22; Derek Thompson 9-10 0-4 18; David Rukstalis 3-7 6-6 12; Cliff Furtado 4-10 0-0 10; Matt Schnider 2-5 1-1 5; Adam Rose 2-5 0-0 4; Tyler Lang 1-6 0-0 2; K.C. Grandfield 0-0 2-3 2; Calvin Akers 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 12-19 75. Wheaton College............... 34 44 - 78 Bridgewater State College..... 34 41 - 75 3-point goals-Wheaton College 4-12 (Brian Zukowski 2-4; Justin Brown 1-1; Sean Kelly 1-2; Kristopher Pedra 0-1; James Greenslit 0-1; Mark Sullivan 0-2; Patrick McDonough 0-1), Bridgewater State College 5-13 (Tom Cuddihy 3-4; Cliff Furtado 2-6; David Rukstalis 0-2; Adam Rose 0-1). Fouled out--Wheaton College-None, Bridgewater State College-None. Rebounds-Wheaton College 44 (Brian Zukowski 10), Bridgewater State College 43 (Derek Thompson 10). Assists-Wheaton College 18 (Sean Kelly 9), Bridgewater State College 22 (Tyler Lang 7). Total fouls-Wheaton College 16, Bridgewater State College 20. A-325