NORTON, Mass. – Senior forward Aaron Williams (Springfield, Mass.) poured in a game-high 33 points and senior guard Alex Carlisle (Saint Johnsbury, Vt.) scored his 1,000th career point to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team to an 84-75 victory over visiting Clark University this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons improve to 6-6 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Cougars fall to 9-4 and 1-1.

Wheaton's defense held Clark to just 27.8% (10-36) shooting in the second half and stifled the Cougars in the final 3:20 of play, holding them without a field goal in their final 11 attempts. The Lyons outscored Clark, 54-34, in the second half, while shooting 58.1% (18-31) in the session and outrebounded their foes, 25-18 in the half. Wheaton shot 50.8% (30-59) for the game, while holding the Cougars to a final mark of 34.3% (24-70).

Carlisle hit a jumper from the left elbow at the 13:27 mark of the second half to become the 15th player in school history to score 1,000 or more points for the Lyons. He finished the contest with 22 points to stand at 1,006 points for his tenure in Norton.

Williams has scored 30 or more points in five of his last seven games and added 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double and sixth of the season for Wheaton. He was 9-15 from the floor and 14-17 from the free throw line to record his third outing this season with 14 or more made free throws in a game. Williams also added three blocks, a steal and a career-high four assists. Carlisle was 10-16 from the field to go with four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Senior guard Evan Cook (Dunstable, Mass.) contributed with 13 points on 6-10 shooting in addition to a game-high five assists and five boards, while first year forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) matched his career-best with 11 points on 4-6 from the floor to go with four rebounds and an assist.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Taylor (Methuen, Mass.) led Clark with 28 points, including 10-11 from the free throw line, and added five rebounds and two assists, while junior guard Mikey O'Brien (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points, three rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. Sophomore forward Kekoa McArdle (Pittsfield, Mass.) netted 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and handed out two assists.

McCardle made a layup at the 7:23 mark of the second half to give the Cougars a 68-67 edge, but it was their last lead of the afternoon. Williams converted a layup with 7:00 to go in the game for the Lyons to mark the ninth lead change in a span of just under five minutes of play. The layup sparked a 10-2 run that resulted in Wheaton's largest advantage of the game to that point at 77-70 with 3:37 remaining in the contest. 

O'Brien canned a three-pointer at the 3:20 mark to pull Clark to within 77-73, but it was the last field goal of the afternoon for the visitors. The Lyons closed out the game with seven of the final nine points to secure the victory. 

The Cougars did not trail in the first half after taking an early 9-4 lead at 16:58 of the first half, paced by four points from McCardle. Carlisle and Cook made consecutive layups to cut the deficit to 9-8 with 13:37 showing, but it was as close as the home team got in the opening stanza.

Wheaton stayed within 16-13 with 9:17 left to play in the half, but Clark scored five of the next six points, capped by a layup and a free throw from Taylor to give the Cougars a 21-14 margin at the 8:05 mark of the half. 

Clark maintained a 24-17 advantage with 7:25 to go, before increasing its lead to 34-24 at 4:53 following a 10-3 run, fueled by seven points from sophomore guard Ian Calabrese (Simsbury, Conn.).

The Lyons scored six straight points to close to within 34-30 with 3:30 left, but the Cougars netted the final seven points of the half, including five from Taylor, to take a 41-30 margin at the intermission.

Wheaton was hot to start the second half, going on a 12-2 stretch, started by a fastbreak dunk from Williams and capped by a floating jumper from Cook to pull the Lyons to within 43-42 with 17:16 remaining in the second half. 

Clark got some breathing room, scoring six of the next eight points, including a pair of trifectas from first year guard Reid Neumann (Burbank, Calif.), to take a 49-44 margin at 16:01. Wheaton responded with five unanswered points to knot the game at 49-49 with 14:47 showing on the second half clock. Carlisle later gave the Lyons their first lead of the day with 11:48 to go when he made a layup off of a turnover to give Wheaton a 58-56 advantage. 

Wheaton returns to action on Wednesday, January 11 when it hosts NEWMAC foe Springfield College at Emerson Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m., while the Cougars travel to Boston, Mass. on the same night to take on league opponent Emerson College at 6:00 p.m.