Worcester, Mass. – Visiting Wheaton College closed the game on a 24-10 run over the final eight plus minutes to rally for a 59-54 win over Clark University in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center.
With the victory, the Lyons snap a three-game losing streak, improve to 7-6 overall and even their league mark at 2-2, while Cougars slip to 7-7 following their third consecutive defeat and remain winless in conference play (0-2).
Wheaton found itself down 44-35 after Clark went on a 13-3 run capped by a D.J. Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) offensive rebound and putback with a little less than nine minutes remaining. After that basket, however, the Lyons embarked on their game-altering spurt that included an 11-1 stretch that gave them a one-point lead on an Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, Mass.) three-pointer.
The teams traded a series of free throws over the next few minutes until four straight from the charity stripe following a personal foul and a technical pushed the Wheaton lead to four at 53-49 with less than two minutes remaining.
Clark closed the gap to two at 53-51 after a Bailey jumper at the 1:29 mark, but an offensive rebound by Shawn Daily (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) allowed for an extra possession for Wheaton and they capitalized with Weeks dropping in a pull-up jumper with 36 seconds left.
The Cougars next trip down the court resulted in a missed jumper and Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, R.I.) made four straight free throws sandwiched around a made Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass.) triple, giving the Lyons the win.
After shooting just 28 percent in the first half, Wheaton made 53 percent of their shots in the second half and went 12-for-14 from the charity stripe.
The Cougars, meanwhile, connected on 40 percent of their attempts and made eight of 15 three-pointers.
Wheaton forced 19 Clark turnovers, which they converted into 16 points and the visitors also held a 31-29 edge on the glass.
Degnan and Weeks took game-high honors with 18 points apiece, combining to shoot 11-for-21 from the field. Daily chipped in with six points and a game-high ten rebounds, while Will Bayliss (Manchester, N.H.) added five points and five assists with just one turnover in 28 minutes.
Clark was paced by Armstrong, who totaled a career-best 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting and Travis Curley (Trumbull, Conn.) added 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
The Cougars will look to return to the win column on Saturday when they play host to NEWMAC rival Coast Guard.