BRIDGEWATER, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team knocked off the 19th-ranked team in the country on Saturday afternoon at Bridgewater State College, as the Lyons never trailed en route to a thrilling 68-66 victory over the Bears in the Tinsley Center.

Downing Bridgewater State for the third straight time on the road and the fourth time in the teams' last six meetings, Wheaton improved to 3-2 on the young season.  Bridgewater State, which is ranked by D3hoops.com, suffered its second straight loss to fall to 3-3.

Junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown), who continued to climb Wheaton's all-time scoring chart by moving into eighth place with 1,079 points, made a free throw with 16 ticks left in giving the Lyons a two-point edge.  The Blue and White then withstood a pair of Bear three-point attempts in the final nine seconds, as each barely missed the target, in securing the win.  Coppola finished with a game-best 18 points after shooting 8-of-13 from the field, including making all eight of his two-point field-goal tries, to go alongside a game-high-tying five assists.

Draining the game's first two threes by the 18:43 mark, senior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) turned in a double-double of 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.  He was 5-of-7 from the field, as Wheaton was effective shooting the ball, finishing at 54.2 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent beyond the three-point stripe.  Sophomore Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA/Worcester Academy), who took a huge charge with 38 ticks left and the Lyons in front by one, contributed 10 points, six boards and three blocks, while freshman Cliften Desravines (Somerville, MA/Taft School) had eight points, six rebounds and a pair of rejections.

Senior Matt McLaughlin (Rochester, MA/Tabor Academy) went 8-of-11 to lead the hosts with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, while junior Judah Jackson (Everett, MA/Cushing Academy) recorded 16 points and four thefts.  Sophomore Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, MA/Malden Catholic) had 12 points.

Stehle's pair of threes ignited a 12-2 run to open the game, but the Bears responded with a 10-3 stretch to trail 15-12 with 13:37 remaining before the break.  Five straight Wheaton points pushed the lead out to eight before Bridgewater again rallied and crept to within 26-23 at 8:05.  Leading 30-27 with under five minutes before the break, the Lyons notched a 7-0 run over 1:49 for a 37-27 advantage at 2:46.  The Bears scored the last four points of the frame, and Wheaton carried a 37-31 edge into the locker room.

In the second half, the Lyons extended their lead to 11 on two occasions, including on a Coppola lay-in at 13:47 that made the score 50-39.  An 8-0 Bridgewater State run narrowed the gap to three midway through the stanza, and the hosts stayed within six points the rest of the way.  Jackson's three-point play with 1:14 on the clock and two free throws at 44 seconds each made it a one-point game, but a three-point play from Coppola with 33 ticks left pushed Wheaton's edge back to four.  Ryser buried a trey at 20 seconds, and Coppola made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to set up the dramatic finish.

Wheaton returns to action on Tuesday with a home tilt against Connecticut College at 7:00 p.m.