BRISTOL, RI- The Wheaton College men's basketball team whittled a late eight-point deficit to two during the final minute of regulation but came up short at Roger Williams University's Recreation Center Gymnasium, 63-58 on Thursday night. The Lyons slipped to 2-2, while the Hawks improved to 6-1, winning for the fifth time by eight points or fewer.

Junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) scored 14 points to lead Wheaton, canning a trio of three-pointers during the second half and moving into ninth in program history in scoring (1,061). Senior Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) added nine points off the bench, and freshman Cliften Desravines (Somerville, MA/Taft School) totaled seven points and game highs of 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Sophomore Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA/Worcester Academy) tallied eight points, and freshman reserve P.J. Walters (Hempstead, NY/Saint Dominic) turned in seven points and five boards. Wheaton blocked 10 shots, its most since January 24, 2004, and just two shy of the school record.

Junior Travis O'Dell (Brunswick, ME/Brunswick) led Roger Williams with 18 points, and classmate Corey Fava (Aliso Viejo, CA/Saint Margaret's Episcopal School) added 12. Sophomore Pat Flanagan (Somerville, MA/Somerville) tallied eight points and nine rebounds.

Wheaton trailed 58-50 after a pair of Roger Williams free throws with 1:11 to go, but freshman Scott Faucher (Lebanon, NH/Kimball Union Academy) canned a three-pointer at the 1:01 mark. With 25 ticks remaining, Leo buried a three to make it 58-56, and Walters countered a pair of Hawk freebies with a lay-up at 14 seconds. However, the hosts made three free throws in the final 12 seconds while the Lyons missed two shots and committed a turnover.

The Lyons trailed just 29-25 at halftime thanks in large part to a 25-15 rebounding advantage and six blocks, three apiece by Desravines and freshman Mike Hall (Lynnfield, MA/Saint John's Prep). The teams traded five leads and played through three ties in the opening period alone, when the Hawks committed only three turnovers while forcing 11.

After a Desravines hoop put Wheaton up by a 20-16 count, giving the visitors their second four-point edge, the Hawks countered with a 13-5 run over the final 4:24 to nearly double their offensive output by the intermission.

Roger Williams never led by more than eight points during the second half, with the visitors coming within 42-41 on Leo's jumper at 9:21. A Leo freebie later made it 51-49 with 4:12 to go, but a 7-1 run by the Hawks set up the exciting final minute.

Wheaton hits the road on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. contest at local rival Bridgewater State College, which is ranked 19th nationally by D3hoops.com.