Men's Basketball Drops NECC Opener At Wheelock

BOSTON, Mass. -- The Wheelock College men's basketball team hung on for an 84-75, New England Collegiate Conference victory over the visiting Blazers of Elms College this evening at Winsor Court. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 3-3 overall (1-0 NECC), while the Blazers slip to 0-6 (0-1 NECC).  

Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Maryland) dropped the first basket of the game, but Wheelock quickly gained steam and eventually built up a 17-8 lead with a Derek Fournier (Johnston, R.I.) layup by the 6:31 mark. Seven consective Blazers points, however, would level things up at 20 apiece at 9:32. With 6:24 to play in the first, the teams exchanged back-to-back threes to tie things up again, 29-29, but Wheelock responded right back with threes from Devin Brown (Chicago, Ill.) and Fournier for a six point lead.

With a second left in play, it seemed as though the Wildcats would enter the break up four, but a foul on a Blazers three-point attempt would send Elms senior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) to the line and close the halftime gap to 43-41. 

Wheelock exploded for the first 15 points of the second stanza and found themselves leading 58-41 after just 4:22 had elapsed. That momentum was short lived, though, as Elms used the next 6:52 to chip away and pull within one with a Dimitri Tessier (Brockton, Mass.) three. The visitors didn't stop there, but gathered their largest lead of the night, five, with 5:59 in regulation. 

The lead changed yet again immediately after that, thanks to six consecutive points from Wheelock senior forward Anthony Williams (White Plains, N.Y.) and Fenton. Two more Fournier three pointers over the next few minutes would give Wheelock a 78-70 lead at :39. The remainder of the game was a game of free throws, and the Wildcats would come away with the 84-75 win. 

The Blazers had four scorers in double figures led by Smith, who recorded 20 points, three boards and six assists. Freshman DeAngelo Cousar (Bowie, Md.) picked up his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, whileIhearahu registered his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Diomanni Fernandez (Tamarac, Fla.) netted 10 points off the bench for Elms.

Williams led all players on the court with a 24 point, 13 rebound double-double, while Fournier added 21, going 5-8 from three point range and 7-12 from the field. Classmate Nicholas Fenton (East Hartford, Conn.) also gave a solid performance, chipping in with 10 points, 10 assists and 4 steals. 

Wheelock resumes their schedule on Saturday, December 3, when they host nonconference opponent Mount Ida College at noon. Elms plays on December 3 as well, traveling to Mitchell for a 3:00 p.m. contest. 

Source: (Wheelock College Athletics)

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