Wesley Topples #22 UMass-Dartmouth
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Wesley College's Kevin Johnson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) scored six straight points to fuel a 12-0 run to end the first half as the Wolverines knocked off No. 22 UMass-Dartmouth 91-72 at the ECAC Holiday Festival.
Wesley (6-4) trailed through much of the early going, but a lay up and a three by Manny Valentin (Egg Harbor City, N.J./Absegami) in succession gave the Wolverines a 25-23 lead with 9:44 left in the half. Wesley, however, could not stretch the lead beyond five points before a tip in by Matt Walker off a missed free throw cut it to a two-point game, 34-32, with 2:37 to go in the first half.
Johnson was fouled on the next Wesley possession, however, and stretched things back to four points. After a turnover, Johnson got to the rim for two more and after Jacques Bowe (Millsboro, Del./Sussex Tech) stole the ball for another Corsair (6-4) turnover, it was Johnson with the finish and the lead stood at 40-32, just 32 seconds after Walker's tip. The Wolverines scored six more points unanswered before the end of the half for a 46-32 advantage at the break.
UMass-Dartmouth opened the second half with an 11-2 run and trailed by just five points, 48-43, just over three minutes into the second half. A pair of Wolverine reserves, however, fueled a 28-8 run over the next 5:30 as the lead exploded to 25 points, 76-51, with 11:09 to go. Paul Reynolds (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) scored nine of his 13 points during the run, capped by back-to-back threes by Valentin.
After starting the half 1-of-4 from the field, the Wolverines hit 14-of-18 over the remainder of the game, shooting 68 percent in the final 20 minutes to keep the Corsairs at arms length.
Johnson finished with a game-high 23 points on 6-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Rudy Thomas (Milton, Del./Sussex Tech) added 21 points, connecting on 8-of-14 shots and 5-of-6 free throws. Thomas also dished out seven assists in the game.
Reynolds and Valentin powered a Wesley bench that outscored their counterparts 35-3 in the game, scoring 13 points apiece. Reynolds went 6-of-10 shooting and had a team-high seven assists. Valentin hit 3-of-5 threes to finish 5-of-7 overall on his way to a career-high in scoring.
The Wolverines shot 57 percent in the contest, while limiting UMass-Dartmouth to just 33 percent.
Paul Rose led the Corsairs with 19 points in the loss. Walker added 18 points and nine rebounds. Brandon Stephens scored 15 points, while Brandon Shelton finished with 10 points and eight assists.
Wesley will play the second of its two games in Florida when they face Ramapo on January 4 at noon.
