Wheaton, ranked seventh in the Northeast, falls to 15-5 overall and 6-3 in conference play. Avenging an 81-79 loss to the Lyons on January 11 in Springfield, the Pride, ranked fourth in the region, move into sole possession of second place in the NEWMAC with a mark of 6-2. Winners of three straight games, Springfield improves to 16-5 on the season.
Senior Jason O'Tash (Alfred, ME/Massabesic) helped the Pride get a quick jump on the hosts, hitting two treys in the opening minutes for a 6-3 lead. The Lyons managed to tie things up at 10-10 on a Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) three-pointer and eventually captured their first lead of the game on a Stanton jumper with 11:28 to go. O'Tash snapped back with his third three of the half, causing one of seven lead changes in the half.
Facing their biggest deficit of the period at 32-27 after a Derek Yvon (East Longmeadow, MA/Cathedral) jumper fell, the Lyons turned to senior Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's), who scored seven points down the stretch including a three at the 3:01 mark to give the hosts a 36-34 edge. After a Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) four-point play, the Pride hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to make the halftime score 40-38 in favor of Wheaton.
Springfield's Mike DeCesar (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxborough) wasted no time in knotting the score at 40-40 to start the second stanza, as the junior forward went on to score nine points in the opening five minutes to give the Pride a 53-47 advantage. Vega was able to keep the game close, scoring 13 points including a trio of three-pointers over a five-minute span, as the Lyons eventually regained the lead at 59-57 with 11:38 remaining.
The teams swapped leads twice more, but with six minutes to play and the score tied at 67-67, senior Mark Ledwell (Charlemont, MA/Mohawk Trail Regional) banked in a lay up and sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) drained a three to give Wheaton a five-point edge. The lead didn't hold for long, as sophomore Damian Farley (Natick, MA/Natick-Bridgton) hit a jumper followed by an Yvon free throw and lay up to push the score to 72 apiece with 2:25 to play. Neither team scored the rest of the way, forcing the five-minute overtime.
Kelly got things started in the extra session with a quick two, but Yvon erased it with a conventional three-point play with 1:40 to go. Vega hit two free throws to give the Lyons a 76-75 edge, but two straight Wheaton fouls sent Farley and DeCesar to the line, as both players hit all four free throws. Down by three with 10 ticks left on the clock, Wheaton got the ball into the hands of Stanton, who launched a three-point shot that bounced off the rim and onto the cable above as time expired to give the Pride the overtime victory.
Vega posted a season-high 29 points, converting 9-of-19 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, and a game-high four steals. Zukowski netted 16 points (5-10 FG, 3-6 3-pt FG) on the afternoon, while Kelly rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points and a team-best tying three assists.
Yvon led the Pride with 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. DeCesar recorded the lone double-double of the game with 18 points and 11 boards. Farley chipped in with 10 points, while sophomore Anthony Pizzo (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) dished out a game-high eight assists.
Wheaton takes its conference schedule on the road Tuesday, February 8 for a crucial game against first-place Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Springfield College vs Wheaton College 2/5/05 1:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. At Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE 79, WHEATON COLLEGE 76 SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE (16-5, 6-2) Derek Yvon 11-22 6-7 28; Mike DeCesar 7-16 3-4 18; Damian Farley 4-5 2-2 10; Jason O'Tash 3-4 0-0 9; Joel Aponte 3-5 1-3 8; Jamaal Gibbs 1-1 0-2 3; Kyle Marian 1-7 1-2 3; Anthony Pizzo 0-4 0-1 0. Totals 30-64 13-21 79. WHEATON COLLEGE (15-5, 6-3) Josean Vega 9-19 7-8 29; Brian Zukowski 5-10 3-4 16; Sean Kelly 4-8 4-4 13; Mike Stanton 4-13 0-2 9; Mark Ledwell 3-5 1-2 7; Eric Johnston 0-0 2-2 2; Brian Cerone 0-2 0-0 0; Brent DiGiovanna 0-1 0-0 0; James Greenslit 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 17-22 76. Springfield College........... 38 34 7 - 79 Wheaton College............... 40 32 4 - 76 3-point goals-Springfield College 6-19 (Jason O'Tash 3-3; Joel Aponte 1-2; Mike DeCesar 1-5; Jamaal Gibbs 1-1; Anthony Pizzo 0-2; Derek Yvon 0-6), Wheaton College 9-30 (Josean Vega 4-13; Brian Zukowski 3-6; Mike Stanton 1-7; Sean Kelly 1-4). Fouled out--Springfield College-Joel Aponte, Wheaton College-James Greenslit. Rebounds-Springfield College 40 (Mike DeCesar 11), Wheaton College 32 (Mike Stanton 9). Assists-Springfield College 20 (Anthony Pizzo 8), Wheaton College 14 (Josean Vega 3; Sean Kelly 3; James Greenslit 3). Total fouls-Springfield College 17, Wheaton College 19. A-415