BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England men's basketball team took the lead with five minutes left and held on down the stretch to finish off a 66-63 win over Wheaton College (Mass.) and claim the 2023 Jim Beaudry Classic hardware on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 12) on Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.

It marks the third time in the 11 editions of the event that the Nor'easters have come away with the title, following November 2019 and January 2009.

Tournament Most Outstanding Player Adrian Torres and All-Tournament Team honoree Adam Lux were the only players to reach double figures in scoring during the 2nd half to guide the result for UNE (10 and 12, respectively). Torres averaged 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.5 steals over the weekend, while shooting 54 percent from the floor, and Lux put up 17.0 points with 12.0 rebounds.

A three-pointer from Dylan Crowley with 4:27 remaining made it 57-52, and it was a deficit the Lyons couldn't quite recover from. A layup by Lux at the 1:18 mark (61-56), and a pivotal steal plus a pair of freebies by Torres padded the margin to six (64-58) with 43 ticks on the clock. It was seven when a hoop from Jaden Keliher cut into the margin, and, after one Jayden Thornton free throw, Duncan Bubar hit a trey for the visitors to setup a one-possession game with 6.1 seconds left. The Nor'easters managed to play keep-away to run out the rest of the time.

Lux ended with a double-double and game-highs of 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Torres supplied 12 points, five boards, and five steals. Thornton tossed in 15 points and Crowley added 11 to go with three steals; the pair accounted for UNE's four three-pointers. The Nor'easters (2-1) had a 16-point scoring advantage at the charity stripe (24-8), which included a 21-for-28 performance in the 2nd period.

For Wheaton (1-1), All-Tournament Team member Eoin Morrissey registered a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds prior to fouling out in the last minute. Dimetri Iafrate contributed 11 points with four steals, while Keliher and Sal Pedevillano combined for 13 of their 17 points post-halftime. Markus Nordin, who led Saturday's win for the Lyons, also received All-Tournament Team status.

Thornton scored seven of UNE's first nine to help the hosts out to an eight-point cushion in the 1st stanza (16-8), and it was still eight (25-17) until Wheaton tallied the final 10 before intermission.

The Lyons had a stretch during the initial portion of the 2nd where they hit 5-of-6 three-pointers -- the last four doing most of the work to flip a 36-31 UNE lead into a 45-42 edge. Wheaton's advantage peaked at five (47-42, 49-44), only to see Crowley bury his first trifecta moments later. Kyle Lombardi notched all of his four points in the minutes that followed, along with three from Torres, to make it 54-52 in favor of the Nor'easters.

Earlier in the day, the Beaudry Classic consolation game was won by Eastern Connecticut State University, 92-70, over Medgar Evers College. The respective top scorers from that match garnered All-Tournament Team mention, as well, in Jalen Hamblin (Eastern Connecticut) and Dante Simmons (Medgar Evers).