Wheelock routs Daniel Webster, advances to semis

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – After splitting the season series in games that were decided by a total of six points, Tuesday night’s New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) quarterfinal matchup between number three Wheelock College and number six Daniel Webster promised to be a nail-biter. But Wheelock shot over fifty percent from the field and had two players with over 20 points en route to a 95-67 win over the Eagles in front of a packed house at Pine Manor College.

Wheelock jumped out to a quick 13-2 lead thanks to a pair of three-pointers from junior Dan Main (Hopedale, Mass.), who, together with senior Sherard Robbins (Malden, Mass.) combined for over half of Wheelock’s total, with 27 points each.

Daniel Webster head coach Dave Faucher called a time-out at 16:46 mark in the first half, and the Eagles responded with an 8-2 run, highlighted by triples from junior Chris Hanson (Salem, Mass.) and freshman Keith Speed (Colombus, Ohio), but that was as close as the Eagles would get for the rest of the game, as Wheelock outscored Daniel Webster 14-3 over the next five minutes of play and went into the locker room with a 29 point lead.

Daniel Webster was haunted by an unfriendly rim for most of the night, shooting only 11-29 from the field in the first half, while Wheelock hit 21-34 in the first half, including 7-9 from behind the arc. The Eagles outscored head coach John Preziosa’s team 39-38 in the second half.

Hanson and Speed were the high scorers for Daniel Webster, with 11 points each, while junior Eric Suarez had three blocks on defense. Wheelock was led defensively by Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI), who had six steals on the night.

The Wildcats (16-10, 9-6 NECC) advance to take on number two seed Elms College on Friday night at Becker College in Leicester, Mass for an 8:00 pm tip-off, while Daniel Webster finishes the season at 9-16 and 5-10 in NECC play.