Pelletier, DeLucia, Mattioli, 56-57 hoop team added to Alumni-Athletics Hall of Fame

Alumni-Athletics Hall of Famers were introduced at the football game halftime at Homecoming. From left to right: Selection Committee Chair Tim Connolly '77, Stephanie DeLucia '99, Assumption College President Francesco Cesareo, Stacy Mattioli '01, Director of Athletics Ted Paulauskas '67.

WORCESTER, Mass. --- Assumption College formally inducted three new individual members to its Alumni-Athletics Hall of Fame SATURDAY (September 22, 2007) as part of Fall Homecoming Weekend.

Members of the Class of 2007 include STEPHANIE E. (DELUCIA) DE BAGGIS '99 for softball, STACY A. (MATTIOLI) COURTNEY '00 for basketball and RICHARD A. (RICH) PELLETIER '76 for ice hockey.

And, for the first time the College honored a team. The 1956-57 men's basketball team coached by Hall of Famer ANDY LASKA H68 was inducted as a unit. Five of the six living members of that team were in attendance along with Coach Laska. Three members of the team, Joe O'Brien '57, Ronnie Goba '58 and Felix (Buddy) Masterson '60, along with Laska, are already enshrined as individuals.

It was Assumption's grandest moment on the court . . .

1956-57 men's basketball

"Little Danny Gearin, a home-grown product, perpetuated the greatest upset the auditorium has ever known last night when he blithely swished home a free throw after playing time had expired, to shove Assumption College's perky upstarts to a 69-68 victory over Holy Cross."

It was March 7, 1957 - 50 years ago!

Worcester Telegram Sports Editor Paul Johnson's memorable first paragraph said it all. Assumption College, a school with barely more than 100 students, knocking off the former N.I.T. and NCAA champions from across town. It was then, and still is today, the single most important date in Assumption College athletics history.

When the tornado ripped through the old campus on June 9, 1953, the rebuilding process began immediately. It was the idea of then President Rev. Armand Desautels, A.A. to give scholarships for basketball in the hope it would help raise awareness and much-needed funds. By 1957, the College had relocated to a brand new campus and the basketball team finished 21-1 as the premier small college team in New England.

The Greyhounds chose to play in the Pete Houston Appreciation Day doubleheader in lieu of advancing to their third straight regional tournament. The games benefited Houston who suffered a head injury earlier in the season and twice required brain surgery. The funds collected helped defray medical costs.

"Gearin's free throw-and he might well have stifled a yawn before shooting, so calm was he at the line-was the climax of a dramatic evening of basketball in front of more than 3,000 fans."

The Hounds, led by the venerable Joe O'Brien on the court and coached by Andy Laska (who played with Bob Cousy on the Holy Cross' 1947 NCAA Championship team), from the sidelines, were destined for victory that night. O'Brien was playing head-to-head against his teammate from St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, NJ)-HC captain George Waddleton-and his former coach, Roy Leenig, was now directing the HC bench. The Greyhounds were basically counted out of the game three times in the first half falling behind by 10 points before rallying behind captain O'Brien and upstart freshman Felix (Buddy) Masterson to narrow the gap to 37-36 at the break.

As the second half began, Ronnie Goba, Herbie Dyson, Masterson, and O'Brien scored hoops in succession as the Hounds moved to a 44-41 lead. Holy Cross would move back in front 52-48 before O'Brien drilled back-to back jumpers and Dyson connected on a twisting lay-in to put the Hounds back in front 54-52. HC then muscled to a 64-58 advantage with just over four minutes left.

Fred Scollan scored inside on a feed from Goba, then Goba tipped in a rebound and Masterson drilled a 20-footer to make it 64-62 with 3:30 left. And the drama unfolded over the waning minutes as the Hounds crept back in, down 68-64, with 1:53 left. Gearin's rebound and left-hand hook shot cut the gap to two. With 25 seconds left O'Brien hit his fourth straight jumper over a Goba screen to tie the game and set the stage for Gearin's post-buzzer heroics.

The names are now all-too-familiar on this campus: Buddy Masterson, Bob Sullivan, Joe Walsh, Herbie Dyson, Dan Gearin, Joe Lane, Joe Sweeney, Fred Scollan, Ronnie Goba, Mike O'Shea, Joe O'Brien and Emile Trahan.

Masterson led the Greyhounds with 20 points, while O'Brien finished with 15 points (12 in the second half). Gearin's heroics may have been foreshadowed by the season opener, when he swished a jumper at the buzzer to give the Hounds a rousing 57-56 overtime win at Providence College.

It was one of Assumption's most impressive years, as the Greyhounds would never again beat both Providence and Holy Cross in the same season.

Hall of Fame members of the team:

Head Coach Andrew LASKA H68 (HOF '67) (Worcester, MA/North)

Ronald E. GOBA '58 (HOF '73) (Union City, NJ/Saint Michael's)

Felix E. (Buddy) MASTERSON '60 (HOF '72) (Newark, NJ/Seton Hall Prep)

Joseph M. O'BRIEN '57 (HOF '70) (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep)

Remainder of the Roster:

David CHARTIER '60 (Danielson, CT/Assumption Prep '56)

Herbert D. DYSON '59 (Worcester, MA/South)

Daniel E. GEARIN '57 (Worcester, MA/St. Stephen's)

Joseph N. LANE '56 (Worcester, MA/St. John's)

Michael J. O'SHEA '59 (Worcester, MA/St. John's)

Frederick T. SCOLLAN '57 (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep)

Robert S. SULLIVAN '60 (Bronx, NY/St. Helena's)

Joseph F. SWEENEY '59 (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep)

Emile R. TRAHAN '60 (Southbridge, MA/Assumption Prep '56)

Joseph E. WALSH '60 (Worcester, MA/St. John's)

Student Assistants

Peter CARON '59

Ron DEBITETTO '60

Phil CORMIER '59

1956-57: Season Record: Won 21, Lost 1

Dec. 2 at Providence (ot) Won 57-56

Dec. 8 STONEHILL Won 106-76

Dec. 12 at Merrimack Won 95-61

Dec. 14 UTICA Won 109-68

Dec. 18 NEW BEDFORD TECH Won 68-47

Dec. 21 at Stonehill Won 87-66

Dec. 28 Hillyer, CT Won 97-59

Dec. 29 Quinnipiac Won 79-59

Jan. 6 at Quinnipiac Won 68-56

Jan. 9 CLARK Won 72-57

Jan. 12 at WPI Won 67-54

Jan. 18 HILLYER Won 99-64

Jan. 27 AMERICAN INT'L. Won 70-63

Feb. 2 at Worcester State Won 78-72

Feb. 6 MERRIMACK Won 95-40

at Saint Anselm Lost 75-77

Feb. 17 FAIRFIELD Won 67-51

Feb. 20 NEW HAVEN STATE Won 75-69

Feb. 21 WORCESTER STATE Won 65-52

Feb. 23 at Hillyer Won 100-62

Feb. 28 at Clark Won 86-68

Pete Houston Benefit Game at Worcester Auditorium

Mar. 7 at Holy Cross Won 69-68

STEPHANIE DELUCIA

Softball

Presented by Kristen LADEBAUCHE, her teammate & friend

STEPHANIE DELUCIA (Franklin, MA/Franklin) was one of the premier softball players in Assumption College history for Coaches DAN SANTERRE and RALPH DELUCIA (her father). In her time with the program, the Greyhounds posted an amazing 110-62-3 record including a dominant 70-25-2 mark over her last two years.

The team finished 34-12-1 in 1998 winning the Northeast-10 Conference postseason playoffs and advancing to the program's first N.C.A.A. Division II regionals after opening their Northern schedule with an 18-0-1 run. In 1999, the team won the ECAC Division II championship and posted a 36-13-1 record.

She finished with the third-highest career batting average (.466) and is the career leader in runs (155) and doubles (63). She is also ranked second in hits (260), third in triples (12), fourth in RBI (124) and fifth in home runs (16). As a pitcher she finished with a 27-20 record, 2.11 ERA, 31 complete games with 148 strikeouts in 325 innings.

She was named the 1996 Andrew Laska Award winner as the female athlete-of-the-year at the College after batting .479 and posting a 13-7 mark on the mound with a 2.15 ERA and 15 complete games.

She will be long-remembered for her incredible individual 1998 season in which she won the N.C.A.A. Division II national and Northeast-10 Conference batting championships (.566). She set team records for hits (94), doubles (23), extra-base hits (32) and total bases (139). She earned Louisville Slugger NFCA all America third-team honors along with first-team all-region, all-Northeast-10, all ECAC, all-New England and CoSIDA academic all-region.

In 1999 DeLucia was again named to the Louisville Slugger N.F.C.A. All America (second team) and the second-team CoSIDA academic all-America and finished at .396 with eight home runs and 50 runs batted in. She was also named first-team on the NFCA all-Northeast District team, ECAC North, Northeast-10 and all-New England and played in the New England all-star game for the fourth time.

She also earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship.

DeLucia was a prep standout,also for her father, at Franklin, MA High School. She was graduated with a Bachelors in Psychology with a minor in Social and Rehabilitative Services with a 3.44 GPA, and later earned a Masters in Education and Counseling from Bridgewater State College '02. She is currently a Guidance Counselor at Millbury High School.

She is married to Augustino DeBaggis and they reside in Uxbridge, MA with a daughter Sera Isabelle (1).

STACY MATTIOLI

Basketball

Presented by Dave Mattioli, her father

STACY MATTIOLI (Sturbridge, MA/St. Peter-Mariann), one of the premier basketball players in Assumption College history for Coach KERRY PHAYRE, is the College's career scoring leader with 1,791 points. In addition, she was among the rare elite of three-time captains and MVPs at the College.

Mattioli was a three-time CoSIDA academic all-America and also earned the Rev. Armand Desautels, A.A. Memorial Award (2001) as the premier senior student-athlete and the Andrew Laska Award (1997) as the female athlete-of-the year.

She owns two of the top three games in Hounds' history with 38 points vs. American International (1/12/97) and 33 points at Merrimack (2/19/99). She scored 27 points vs. Bluefield State, WV (11/16/96) in her second career game. She holds the Hounds' mark with seven three-pointers vs. Pace (11/29/00) and made six on five separate occasions.

She was the second-leading freshman scorer in the nation and earned Women's Basketball Magazine freshman all-American status. She averaged 18.4 points as the Northeast-10 Conference and ECAC North Freshman-of-the-Year and was named second-team all-conference. She set the Hounds' record for most points by a freshman (497).

As a sophomore, she averaged 20.7 points in an injury-shortened season. She averaged 18.6 points with 25 double-figure games (11 games over 20 points) and a record 85 treys in her ‘comeback' junior year and was named first-team all conference, all-ECAC North and earned GTE-CoSIDA academic all-region (first team) and all-America (second team) honors.

As a senior she averaged 12.4 points leading the team to its first 20-win season and N.C.A.A. regional. She finished her career averaging 14.6 points leading the Greyhounds to an 18-10 record. She also completed her assault on the record book and is now the career leader in average (16.0), points (1,791), free throws (432), three-pointers (275), three-point accuracy (.414) and free throw accuracy (.807). She also owns a team best 33 20-point games.

Mattioli was a prep standout at St. Peter-Marian High in Worcester, MA. She was graduated in May 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and received a second Bachelors in Sociology in 2001. She owned a 3.86 grade point average and a final class rank of seventh.

She is currently a property manager for Cutler Real Estate in Worcester and is married to Robert Courtney '00. They reside in Sturbridge, MA with twins, daughter Haley Ann and son Cameron Joseph (3).

RICH PELLETIER

Ice Hockey

Presented by Ray LEMAY, his head coach & friend

RICHARD (RICH) PELLETIER '76 was the premier offensive player of his day with the Greyhounds for Coach RAY LEMAY. The career scoring leader and first 100-point producer in the program's history, Dick left with 66 goals, 83 assists for 149 points in just 71 games. He is currently ninth in both goals and assists and seventh in the career point list.

He was awarded the Rev. Armand Desautels, A.A. Memorial Award as the premier senior student-athlete at the College in 1976, the first of just three ice hockey players to win the award. He was the first two-time captain of team, 1974 75 and 1975-76.

He played right wing (21-37--58) on the high-scoring line of center Marc Pelletier (no relation) (Woonsocket, RI) (23-26--49) and left wing Tim Atchue (Worcester, MA) (11-16-27). The line accounted for 55-79--134 points in 1975-76.

He joined the team in a not-so-successful one-win season in 1972-73 scored 16 goals, 13 assists for 29 points and scored his first career goal against Bridgewater State (12/9/72). As a sophomore the team rebounded to a .500 record (8-8-1) as he amassed 12-17--29 points collecting the first of five career 'hat tricks' opening night vs. Clark (11/29/73). He followed with a 17-16--33 point performance as a junior.

He averaged 2.10 points/game (149 points in 71 games) which is fourth in Hounds' annals. As a senior he averaged 2.90 points (fourth all-time) (58 points in 20 games) as he and teammate Marc Pelletier became the second and third players to reach the 20-goal plateau in the program's history. His 37 assists that season is still the fifth best.

Pelletier scored a career-high four goals in a game twice, first as a freshman vs. Stonehill (2/22/73) and again as a senior versus M.I.T. (2/14/76). He set then records of seven points and six assists as the Hounds defeated Clark (15-0) (1/20/76) and set a then team record with 22 assists. Two weeks later he added five assists, again against Clark (2/10/76). He also had three assists in the third period in a come-from-behind 10-6 win over Stonehill (12/5/75).

Pelletier, originally from Fitchburg, MA, was a standout at Notre Dame High School. He was graduated from the College with a Bachelors in Political Science in 1976 and subsequently from Suffolk University Law School '79. He worked with Arthur Anderson and Conoco Oil Co., both in Houston, TX was President of Commonwealth Development, Inc.

He and his wife Cindy currently own and operate the Nashoba Valley Spirits, Ltd., in Bolton, MA. They also reside in Bolton with a sons Jesse and Justin.