Wheaton has first-half lead slip away in loss at regional power Elms

CHICOPEE, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team led Elms College late in the first half before the Blazers, who are receiving national votes from D3hoops.com, pulled away for a 77-56 victory on Thursday in Picknelly Arena. The Lyons slipped to 3-4, while the Blazers are now 6-1. Wheaton kicked off a five-game stretch during which it faces four teams that qualified for the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) carried the Lyons early, scoring 14 of their first 19 points. He finished with 16 points, while sophomore Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI/Bishop Hendricken) matched Coppola in scoring and went 5-of-6 on free-throw tries. Freshman P.J. Walters (Hempstead, NY/Saint Dominic) added 12 points off the bench, and classmate Cliften Desravines (Somerville, MA/Taft School) snagged a game-high nine rebounds.

After attempting just two freebies in the opening half, the Lyons went 13-of-16 from the charity stripe in the second stanza but shot 30 percent from the floor. Wheaton finished 3-of-23 from three-point range but held a 43-38 rebounding advantage.

Senior Javon Mathis (East Hartford, CT/Plainville) had 19 points and eight boards for the Blazers, classmate Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke) added 14 points, and sophomore Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, CT/Sacred Heart) totaled 12 points.

Coppola staked Wheaton to a 7-6 edge by 17:29 of the first half before the hosts rattled off nine straight points for a 15-7 advantage. The Blazers eventually led by a 19-10 count before a 15-4 run by the visitors gave them their last lead of the game at 25-23. Freshman Mike Hall (Lynnfield, MA/Saint John's Prep) scored the go-ahead hoop with 4:41 remaining in the half following a sequence in which he blocked two shots in 12 seconds. However, Elms scored the final 16 points of the stanza and took a 39-25 lead into halftime.

Elms capped a 26-2 run by forging a 49-27 advantage at 17:33 of the second stanza before Wheaton tallied six straight points, including four from the charity stripe, but the Blazers expanded their margin and led by at least 21 for the final 9:31.

The Lyons head to Salem State College on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. contest with the Vikings, who will be Wheaton's second opponent in eight days that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last winter.