Torres, Bernard Power Nighthawks Past Wildcats

CHESTNUT HILL, MA – Sophomores Chris Torres (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) and Peterson Bernard (Boston, Mass./Madison Park) each registered a game-high 20 points as the Newbury College men’s basketball team defeated Wheelock College, 72-53 in the first game of Saturday afternoon’s double-header.  

Bernard shot nine-of-12 from the field and was force in the post, ripping down 11 rebounds and recording three blocks while Torres was on-fire from beyond the arc. The second year guard out of Brockton, hit four-of-five from long-range in 25 minutes while senior guard John Rowley Jr. (Hartford, Conn./Rockville) rounded out the Nighthawk trio in double digits with 17 points.

Sophomore Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, Mass./Austin Prep) paced Wheelock with a career-high 16 points, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range during 21 minutes off the bench. Senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, Mass./Hopedale) notched 11 points and now needs 15 to become the second player in program history with 1,000. Sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, Mass./Weston) hauled in a team-best seven rebounds, while junior Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cypress Bay) had six points, six boards and three steals, with five rebounds at the offensive end. Classmate Kyle Pierce (Burlington, Mass./Burlington) dished out five assists, and junior Victor Kashouh (Providence, R.I./Classical) swatted a pair of shots.

The teams played through a tight first half, with five ties and four lead changes occurring. Neither squad led by more than three points until the Wildcats turned a 10-9 deficit into an 18-12 advantage by 8:25, as a Kaim jumper capped a 9-2 run. The Nighthawks reeled off the next six points, knotting the game on freshman Justin Franks' (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Rye Neck) free throw at 6:18, but Kaim and Main provided consecutive hoops to make it 22-18.

Following a difficult bucket in traffic from Main at 2:29 that kept the hosts in front by a 24-21 count, Newbury went on a 14-1 run over 1:51 that spanned halftime, as Torres poured in 10 points during that time. Rowley had the other four. The Nighthawks extended their 32-25 halftime edge to as many as 21 points in the second stanza, as Rowley's fast-break dunk at 5:11 provided his team its largest advantage and its final points.

Newbury improves to 1-1 in the conference and 2-9 overall while Wheelock falls to 4-8 and 1-2 in the NECC. The Nighthawks return to the hard-court on Tuesday January 11^th when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. to face Lesley University (3-8; 0-1 NECC) at 8:00pm.

- Game story provided by: Josh Kessler, Sports Information Director - Wheelock College

- Game photo by: Samantha Yanofsky