Balanced Scoring Propels Men’s Basketball Past Wheelock in Season-Opener

BOSTON, Mass.- Seven players finished with double-figures in points as the Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team topped Wheelock 93-82 in the season-opener Tuesday evening.

The Lions improve to 1-0 on the year while the Wildcats sink to 0-3 overall.

Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) paced the visitors with 16 points and seven assists. Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) poured in 15 points off the bench and grabbed eight boards. David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) posted his first career double-double as he hauled in a team-high 17 rebounds on the night and scored 13 points.

Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) tallied 14 points while Anthony Petrilli (Woodland Hills, Calif.) recorded 12 points. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished with 11 and 10 points in the win, respectively.

Eastern Nazarene strung together seven points early in the game to capture a 9-6 edge 3:10 into the contest.

A fast-break layup by Gomes pushed the Lions ahead by seven with 13:17 remaining in the first half, 20-13.

Petrilli drilled three consecutive treys before Gomes and Owens converted free throws as the guests established a 32-17 advantage with 9:33 to go in the half.

Wheelock trimmed the deficit to three points with 2:52 on the clock, 42-39.

Eastern Nazarene chalked up a pair of layups in the final minute of the opening period to carry a 49-43 lead into intermission.

The Lions built up a 14-point lead just over two minutes into the second stanza, 59-45.

The visitors maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half until the hosts scored the final nine points of the game to close the gap to 93-82.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 50.8% while connecting on 38.1% of their three-point attempts. The Wildcats shot 46.7% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc.

Anthony Williams netted a game-best 18 points for Wheelock.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will host New England College November 19 in the first home contest of the season.