Wheelock defeats Mitchell 98-75 for first NECC win

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Three players scored over 20 points as the Wheelock Wildcats men's basketball team defeated Mitchell College 98-75 Saturday afternoon in their first New England Collegiate Conference game of the season. Dan Main (Hopedale, Mass.) scored 22 points, Sherard Robbins knocked in 21, and Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) added 20 as the Wildcats had their largest offensive output of the season.

Wheelock shot 50 percent from the field, led by a 9-16 performance from Main. Head Coach John Preziosa also received solid defensive play as the team recorded a season high 15 steals, including a career-high seven steals from sophomore Victor Kashouh (Providence, R.I.).  The Wildcats scored 33 points off of 23 Mitchell turnovers and managed 20 fast break points in improving to 8-3 on the season and 1-0 in the NECC. The Mariners fall to 1-8 overall and 0-2 in the NECC.

The game was knotted at six five minutes into the first half when Wheelock went on a 19-8 run sparked by nine points from junior co-captain Patsy Dinuzzo (Beaver, Penn.), who finished with 12 points on the afternoon include three triples.

Mitchell was able to cut the lead to eight with 1:40 remaining in the first half on a jumper by Eric Murray (Bridgeport, Conn.), but that was as close as the Mariners would get for the rest of the game. Murray led all scores with 24 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while teammate Drew Norris (Wilson, N.C.) was 4-6 from the three-point line for 13 points.

Senior captain Sherard Robbins will be in search of the 1,000 point mark next Tuesday when Wheelock hosts Becker College at 5:00 pm in conference action. Robbins needs only 23 points to hit the milestone. Mitchell hosts Newbury at 7:30 on the same night in conference play.