Robbins hits 1,000 as Wildcats down Mountaineers

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Sophomore Kyle Pierce  (Burlington, Mass.) found a wide-open Eric Rice (Woburn, Mass.) for a two-foot jumper with 13 seconds remaining to propel Wheelock College to a dramatic 64-62 win over Southern Vermont College in front of a packed house Saturday afternoon at Pine Manor College.

Pierce nailed a pair of free throws with 41 seconds to give the Wildcats a three point lead, but Southern Vermont Freshman Derrick Cenicola (Hamilton, NY) drilled a triple from the corner to tie the game at 62 with 29 seconds remaining. Pierce again got to the line for a one plus and missed the free-throw, but the ball went out of bounds off of a Mountaineer player to give the Wildcats a shot with 15 seconds in regulation. After a near turn over, Pierce found Rice who hit the shot for two of his 11 points on the day.

The other dramatic moment for the Wildcats came at the 9:12 mark in the second half when Senior Sherard Robbins (Malden, Mass.) dropped a three footer over two Southern Vermont defenders to reach 1,000 points; the first to do so in the short three year history of the program.  Robbins finished with 17 points on the day, and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Despite the close finish, the Mountaineers led by as many as ten in the first half. After the Wildcats took an 11-8 lead on a Rice three pointer, head coach Michael McDonough’s team responded with a 15-2 run, highlighted by a pair of triples from sophomore Brett Clatworthy (Argyle, NY).

NECC scoring leader Lance Spratling (Pittsfield, Mass.) of Southern Vermont led all scores with 19, while teammate Cenicola finished with 15 points, including four three-pointers. Also in double digits for the Mountaineers were Joe Karnik (Castleton, NY) who turned in a double-double with ten points and 11 boards, and Cameron Herrington (Cambridge, NY), who scored ten points.

Dan Main (Hopedale, Mass.) led Wheelock with 18 points on 8-14 shooting from the floor, while Robbins and Rice were also in double-digits. The Wildcats will next travel to Elms on Tuesday night for a NECC showdown at 7:00 pm, while Southern Vermont visits Lesley University next Thursday at 7:00 pm. The win improves Wheelock’s record to 9-4 overall and 1-1 in the NECC, while Southern Vermont drops to 3-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play.