Wildcats play inspired basketball, defeat Lesley

Chestnut Hill, Mass. - Thursday night's men's basketball game between Wheelock College and Lesley University was dedicated to the memory of student-athlete Alexander "Lex" Rothman, who passed away over the weekend, and the Wildcats played inspired basketball, defeating the Lynx 78-53 in front of a packed gym.

Sophomore Dan Main (Hopedale, MA) led the Wildcats with 18 points, coming on his 6-11 shooting from behind the three point line, while conference scoring leader Sherrard Robbins (Malden, MA) turned in yet another double-double performance, his seventh on the season, with 12 rebounds and 14 points. The NECC game featured a match-up between the two top rebounders in the conference in Wheelock's Robbins and Lesley's Jesus Trejo (Methuen, MA). Trejo won the battle on the glass with 17 boards, 8 on the offensive end of the court while leading his team with 18 points.

The game began with a moment of silence for Rothman, captain of the tennis team and a former member of the basketball team, and then the Wildcats went straight to work, beginning the game with a 17-1 run, in which six different Wheelock players lit up the scoreboard.

The Wildcat defense limited the Lynx offense to just nine points for most of the first half, before Lesley senior Dana Dattilo (Derry, NH) dropped in a layup to give his team 11 points and cut the Wheelock lead to 14 with 7:36 remaining in the first half.

Wheelock executed the full-court press effectively in the first half, scoring 20 points off of 13 Lesley turnovers. The Wildcats also benefitted from 19 points off the bench on the night.

Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI) was the other Wildcat in double-digits, shooting 3-4 from the field and 2-2 from the free-throw line for 10 points. For Lesley, Malcome Andrews (Medford, MA) scored 15 points. The win moves Wheelock's record to 4-10 overall and 2-2 in the conference while Lesley falls to 3-11 and 0-4 in the NECC.