Gregory ties career-high in points (23)

WORCESTER, Mass. – Wheaton College freshman forward Quinton Dale (Winthrop, Mass./Taft School) collected his second-straight double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while classmate Agyei Gregory (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/St. Andrews) poured in a career-high 23 points to guide the Lyons past Clark University, 86-76, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) added 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and senior guard Will Baylis (Manchester, N.H./Tilton School) chipped in with six points, a game-high six assists and four rebounds. In 15 minutes off the bench, junior forward Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) contributed five points to go along with five rebounds and a block.

Clark University senior forward Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) led the Cougars offensively with 15 points, four rebounds, one block and a steal. Freshman guard Lucas LaLima (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) notched ten points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, three rebounds, three steals and five assists. Classmate Matthew Woods (Arlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) rounded out the list of double digit scorers for Clark with ten points including a 2-for-2 showing from beyond the arc in six minutes of action off the bench.

Wheaton shot lights out in the first half going 16-for-31 (51.6-percent) from the field as the Lyons capitalized on their low post game with a 22-8 differential in points in the paint. Dale compiled ten points and nine rebounds in the opening stanza for the second-straight game to pace the offense. Wheaton, who never trailed in the game, used a 13-2 run over the first 4:44 of action and never relinquished its double digit gap for the remainder of the contest.

In the second half, the Lyons jumped out to their largest lead of the game on a three-pointer by Gregory at the 11:09 mark for a 61-36 advantage. As he did in Wheaton's previous matchup, Gregory took over in the second half scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, which also included a 4-for-5 showing at the free throw line.

Wheaton bettered its field goal percentage in the second stanza shooting 15-for-23 (65.2-percent) from the field. Battaglia produced 14 out of his 18 points in the half and Dale also added seven points as the duo went 7-for-9 from the floor in 25 minutes.

Down by 22 (86-64) with 1:17 remaining, Clark fought its way back into contest with a 12-0 run to close the gap to ten points. LaLima and Woods both registered five points apiece during the run, while sophomore forward Corey Gomes (Uxbridge, Mass./Uxbridge) buried a layup with 18-seconds remaining to round out the scoring for the Cougars.

The Lyons finished with a 40-22 differential in points in the paint, outrebounded the hosts 44-33 and held a 12-4 margin in fast break points. Clark led in points off of turnovers (25-17) and bench points (42-34). In the second half alone, the Cougars' bench outscored the Lyons 38-19.

Wheaton (6-4, 2-0 NEWMAC) travels to Springfield College on Wednesday, January 15 for a conference matchup at 5 p.m. Clark (9-4, 0-2 NEWMAC) hosts Emerson College on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

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