Wheaton ran its winning streak to six games with today's victory and improved to 8-1 overall, while Neumann dropped its second straight to fall to 3-7 on the season. With the win, the Lyons advance to tomorrow afternoon's championship game to face nationally-ranked Hampden-Sydney at 4:00 p.m. Ranked 19th nationally according to the latest D3hoops.com poll, the host Tigers defeated SUNY-Old Westbury, 77-62 earlier today.
Following an opening bucket by Neumann sophomore James Swigget (Chester, PA/Chester) at 19:43, Wheaton used a 14-4 run over a 4:53 span to capture a 14-6 lead. The spurt was sparked by three-point buckets from junior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) and sophomore Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic). The Lyons pushed their advantage to 20-9, their largest lead of the half, midway through the half and maintained at least a six-point edge the rest of the stanza en route to a 34-26 score at the break.
Wheaton finished the half shooting 52 percent from the floor, including a 57.1 percent clip from three-point range, while holding a decisive 21-10 rebounding advantage. The Lyons were credited with assists on nine of their 13 field goals, and on the other end of the floor, limited Neumann to just 10 field goals and 34.5 percent shooting. Johnston led the Blue and White with seven first-half points while Zukowski added six points, six boards and three assists.
The Lyons opened the second stanza with a lay-up from senior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) followed by a steal and lay-in by freshman Kristopher Pedra (Avon, CT/Avon) for a 38-26 lead with just over 17 minutes to go. Neumann cut into its deficit to trail, 40-37 with 13:36 on the clock, but two quick buckets from Johnston and Kelly extended the Wheaton lead back to seven points.
With the Lyons clinging to a 53-49 edge with 7:28 left, Wheaton eventually put the game out of reach by scoring 11 of the contest's next 12 points for a commanding 64-50 advantage with just over a minute to go. Pedra reeled off seven straight Lyon markers during the stretch, including a two-handed dunk that gave Wheaton a double-digit lead at 61-50.
Kelly led all scorers with 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds and a game-best six assists, while Zukowski also turned in a double-double performance with 13 points and a career-high 12 boards. Pedra finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting while Johnston added nine points.
Swigget paced Neumann with 12 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Eric Lawton (Philadelphia, PA/Strawberry Mansion) accounted for 11 points in the loss.
Newspaper Box Score Neumann College vs Wheaton College 12/29/05 4:00 p.m. at Fleet Gymnasium, Hampden-Sydney, Va. At Fleet Gymnasium, Hampden-Sydney, Va. WHEATON COLLEGE 67, NEUMANN COLLEGE 60 NEUMANN COLLEGE (3-7) James Swigget 6-12 0-0 12; Eric Lawton 4-5 0-0 11; Andre Wright 4-11 1-1 9; Mike Hitchens 2-8 5-6 9; Ronnie Fields 2-10 1-2 5; Gregory Cunningham 2-4 0-0 5; Elisha Hannibal 2-4 0-0 5; Ely Hitchens 1-2 2-3 4; Thomas Davis 0-3 0-0 0; Nafis Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-60 9-12 60. WHEATON COLLEGE (8-1) Sean Kelly 6-10 3-9 15; Brian Zukowski 3-15 6-8 13; Kristopher Pedra 5-8 1-2 11; Eric Johnston 3-7 1-2 9; Brent DiGiovanna 3-10 0-0 6; James Greenslit 2-3 0-0 5; Jake Otto 2-4 0-0 4; Patrick McDonough 1-1 0-0 2; David Harding 1-2 0-2 2; Ryan McDonough 0-0 0-0 0; Justin Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 11-23 67. Neumann College............... 26 34 - 60 Wheaton College............... 34 33 - 67 3-point goals-Neumann College 5-13 (Eric Lawton 3-4; Gregory Cunningham 1-1; Elisha Hannibal 1-2; Ronnie Fields 0-1; Ely Hitchens 0-1; Thomas Davis 0-1; Mike Hitchens 0-3), Wheaton College 4-14 (Eric Johnston 2-4; James Greenslit 1-2; Brian Zukowski 1-5; Kristopher Pedra 0-1; Sean Kelly 0-2). Fouled out--Neumann College-Gregory Cunningham, Wheaton College-None. Rebounds-Neumann College 32 (James Swigget 8), Wheaton College 46 (Brian Zukowski 12). Assists-Neumann College 9 (Gregory Cunningham 4), Wheaton College 16 (Sean Kelly 6). Total fouls-Neumann College 20, Wheaton College 13. A-135