Strong Second Half Pushes Newbury to Semifinals

The fourth seeded Newbury College men’s basketball team defeated the visiting fifth seeded Wildcats of Wheelock College Tuesday night, 68-61, in the quarterfinals of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) championship.  Nighthawks’ senior guard John Rowley (Hartford, Conn./Rockville) lead all scorers with 18 points and Wildcats’ junior guard Kyle Pierce (Burlington, Mass./Burlington) adding 17 points in defeat.

Newbury’s freshman guard Eric Watson (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) began the game with a quick 3-pointer to begin the game.  A jumper by Pierce and layup by Victor Kashouh (Providence, R.I./Classical) on the next possession gave Wheelock the lead which Newbury would not regain until the second half.  Max Kaim’s (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cypress Bay) jumper, assisted by Daniel Main (Hopedale, Mass./Hopedale), gave the Wildcats a seven point advantage, 31-24, their largest of the half.

Nighthawks were able to quickly cut that margin to one point in the last minutes of the half.  Rowley’s lay-up on a pass by sophomore forward Rondell Best (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) on the next possession cut the lead to five, 31-26.  Another assist by Best, this time to sophomore forward Peterson Bernard (Boston, Mass./Madison Park) who completed the field goal.  With 1:44 remaining, Best recorded his fourth assist of the half dishing it off to Bernard again under the basket cutting the Wildcat lead to one, 31-30.   

Wheelock increased their lead early in the second half, 34-30, with Kashouh stripping Tim Young (Brockton, Mass/Brockton) and passing to Eric Rice (Woburn, Mass./Woburn Memorial) who completed a fifteen foot jump shot.  Ten unanswered Newbury points, highlighted by Watson theft of Main and going coast-to-coast for a lay-up, gave Newbury the lead for the first time since early in the first half.  Two Rowley free throws gave the Nighthawks a nine point advantage, 42-33, with 16:12 remaining.  Young’s jumper with 12:28 gave Newbury an eleven point margin, 50-39, but the Wildcats did not go away quietly.  Pierce’s jumper sparked a 6-0 run pulling the Wildcats within seven, 63-57, with 5:09 remaining.  The comeback was short-lived as Newbury was able to maintain the seven point lead by game’s end.  Pierce’s 13 second half points weren’t enough to help the Wildcats who were outscored by Newbury 38-30 in the half. 

With the win, Newbury improves their overall record to 11-14 and advance to the conference tournament semifinals where they travel to Leicester, Mass. to face the top-seeded Becker Hawks who are 22-3 on the season.  Wheelock College ends their season with a 10-16 record.

- Game photo by: Samantha Yanofsky