Wheaton last made the conference championship game in 2002, when the Lyons dropped a 44-42 decision to Babson College at Clark University. Wheaton will face host WPI in tomorrow's title contest beginning at 4:00 p.m. The Engineers defeated number-five seed Clark, 73-64 earlier tonight. The Lyons improve to 18-8 on the season with the win, while Springfield falls to 21-6 overall.
Other than a 2-0 Springfield edge to start the game, Wheaton held the lead through the game's entirety. Leading 8-7 with 16:03 remaining, the Lyons outscored the Pride, 11-4 over the next 4:31 to take a 19-11 advantage. Springfield cut its deficit to six, but Wheaton used a 10-2 run to capture its biggest lead of the half at 29-15 with just over seven minutes remaining. The Pride responded with a 10-3 spurt that brought the score to 32-25, which turned out to be the same point differential at the half.
Taking a 44-37 lead into the locker room, Wheaton shot extremely well in the opening stanza, hitting 18-of-31 (.581) from the field while having six players score five or more points. Senior Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) and junior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) registered nine points apiece, while junior James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School) and sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) accounted for six points apiece. Senior Mark Ledwell (Charlemont, MA/Mohawk Trail Regional) controlled the boards with a game-best eight rebounds.
For Springfield, junior Mike DeCesar (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxborough) poured in 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting with six rebounds, while classmate Derek Yvon (East Longmeadow, MA/Cathedral) added 12 points.
In the second half, Stanton banked a jump shot and Zukowski knocked down a three to give the Blue and White a 49-37 advantage in the first minute. Springfield got as close as six at 50-44 on a Yvon lay up with 17:12 remaining, but Ledwell and Vega helped key a quick 7-0 run to push Wheaton's margin back to double figures. The Pride stayed within striking distance and trailed 57-50 with 14:30 to play, but from that point forward Stanton took the game into his own hands.
Stanton erupted for 14 of the team's next 19 points, including scorching the net for four straight three-point buckets, for a 76-62 cushion with 7:40 on the clock. The hot three-point shooting didn't stop there for the Lyons, as Greenslit and Stanton knocked down two consecutive treys to put the game out of reach. From the 13:29 mark of the frame until 6:24, all of Wheaton's 21 points came courtesy of its three-point scoring barrage.
Wheaton shot a blistering 65.2 percent from the field in the second half alone and an astounding 72.7 percent from three-point territory. Overall, the Lyons posted their third-best shooting performance in school history, converting 33-of-54 (.611) from the floor and 13-of-21 (.619) from behind the arc. Wheaton also held a 35-27 rebounding advantage over Springfield.
In addition to Stanton's outstanding performance, the Lyons balanced their scoring with a total of five players recording double-figure totals. Zukowski finished the night with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Kelly and Vega each chipped in with 13 points. Kelly shot 5-of-10 with a game-high seven assists and Vega went 5-of-8 with a game-high tying four steals. Greenslit contributed with 11 points on a perfect 3-of-3 from long range, while Ledwell nearly had himself a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
DeCesar ended up with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting for the Pride, while Yvon accounted for 21 points. DeCesar also pulled down a team-best eight boards. Junior Joel Aponte (Windsor, CT/Windsor) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Anthony Pizzo (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) added six assists in the loss.
Newspaper Box Score Wheaton College vs Springfield College 2/25/05 7:30 p.m. at Harrington Auditorium, Worcester, Mass. At Harrington Auditorium, Worcester, Mass. WHEATON COLLEGE 90, SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE 78 WHEATON COLLEGE (18-8) Mike Stanton 9-10 0-1 24; Brian Zukowski 6-11 0-0 14; Josean Vega 5-8 2-6 13; Sean Kelly 5-10 2-2 13; James Greenslit 3-3 2-2 11; Mark Ledwell 3-8 3-4 9; Brent DiGiovanna 1-2 0-0 2; Eric Johnston 1-2 0-0 2; Justin Brown 0-0 2-2 2; Jake Otto 0-0 0-0 0; David Harding 0-0 0-0 0; Joe Lee 0-0 0-0 0; Ben Davis 0-0 0-0 0; Nick Fradiani 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-54 11-17 90. SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE (21-6) Mike DeCesar 10-14 0-0 22; Derek Yvon 6-13 8-9 21; Joel Aponte 4-12 3-3 11; Kyle Marian 3-5 3-3 9; Jamaal Gibbs 1-3 4-6 6; Anthony Pizzo 2-6 0-2 5; Damian Farley 1-5 0-0 2; Jason O'Tash 0-4 2-2 2; Gregg Daly 0-0 0-0 0; Brian Riley 0-0 0-0 0; Ben Barshefsky 0-0 0-0 0; Jim Mack 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 20-25 78. Wheaton College............... 44 46 - 90 Springfield College........... 37 41 - 78 3-point goals-Wheaton College 13-21 (Mike Stanton 6-6; James Greenslit 3-3; Brian Zukowski 2-5; Sean Kelly 1-3; Josean Vega 1-3; Eric Johnston 0-1), Springfield College 4-16 (Mike DeCesar 2-4; Derek Yvon 1-4; Anthony Pizzo 1-2; Jamaal Gibbs 0-1; Damian Farley 0-1; Jason O'Tash 0-3; Joel Aponte 0-1). Fouled out--Wheaton College-None, Springfield College-None. Rebounds-Wheaton College 35 (Mark Ledwell 9), Springfield College 27 (Mike DeCesar 8). Assists-Wheaton College 16 (Sean Kelly 7), Springfield College 13 (Anthony Pizzo 6). Total fouls-Wheaton College 23, Springfield College 17. A-850