Gregory posts fifth career 20-point game in loss

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought loss to MIT by a score of 72-58 on Saturday afternoon in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup inside Emerson Gym.

Wheaton freshman guard Agyei Gregory (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/St. Andrews) produced a game-high2 3 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor including a 4-for-8 showing from long range along with eight rebounds, two assists and one steal. Classmate Quinton Dale (Winthrop, Mass./Taft School) registered his team-leading third double-double of the season with 13 points, 13 rebounds (six offensive), a game-high five blocks and a pair of helpers and steals. Senior guard Will Bayliss (Manchester, N.H./Tilton School) compiled nine points and a game-high five assists, while sophomore guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./Taft School) added seven points and a block.

MIT had four student-athletes reach double figures in points highlighted by junior forward Andrew Acker's (Merion Station, Pa./The Haverford School) near double-double of 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Sophomore forward Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin) tallied 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks, while junior forward Matt Redfield (Los Altos, Calif./Gunn) recorded 13 points, nine boards and four assists. Sophomore guard Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y./Collegiate School) rounded out the group with 12 points and five assists.

Trailing 34-27 at the break, Wheaton chipped away at its deficit using a 22-17 run to bring the game within one possession at the 7:03 mark. Gregory paced the offense with a team-high nine points, Dale contributed seven points, Bayliss and Battaglia each had a basket and junior guard Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) capped the spurt with a fluid layup through traffic off the top-right corner of the window on a feed by Bayliss.

The Lyons went 1-of-2 from the free throw line on their next possession after a missed three-pointer by the Engineers to make the score 51-50 with 6:03 remaining, but MIT answered with a 21-8 run down the stretch to close out the contest and sweep the regular season series against Wheaton. Acker turned in nine points during the offensive outburst, while Redfield had six points, Frankel notched four and Pedley collected two points.

Wheaton held an 11-7 advantage early on in the contest thanks to its defensive pressure over the opening six-plus minutes of action tallying five steals and causing six turnovers. Both teams exchanged leads twice in the first half, before MIT took command of the scoreboard for good on a three-pointer from Frankel for a 22-20 margin with 7:07 to play in the first stanza.

MIT held a 41-28 differential on the glass, shot 47.2-percent (25-for-53) and a 34-26 margin in the paint. Wheaton shot 37.9-percent (22-for-58) from the field, posted a 12-7 differential in points off turnovers and tallied seven steals and eight blocks.

Wheaton (8-13, 3-9 NEWMAC) travels to WPI on Wednesday, February 19 for a NEWMAC contest at 7:30 p.m. MIT (16-7, 7-5 NEWMAC) visits Emerson College on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

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