NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team stormed back from a 20-point deficit early in the second half to take a late lead against the United States Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday night, but the Bears regained their advantage and held on for an 80-76 win during New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action in Emerson Gymnasium.

Suffering its fourth straight loss, Wheaton falls to 5-10 on the season and 1-4 in league play.  Coast Guard, which had dropped eight of its last 10, improved to 6-9 and 3-2.

Sophomore Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI/Bishop Hendricken) paced Wheaton with 17 points to go alongside five rebounds and four assists.  Junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) returned from injury to drop in 16 points off the bench, while freshman Scott Faucher (Lebanon, NH/Kimball Union Academy) added a season-high 13. 

Senior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) pulled down nine rebounds and added eight points for the Lyons, while classmate Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) and freshman P.J. Walters (Hempstead, NY/Saint Dominic) also had eight points.

For Coast Guard, junior Jevon James (Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands/New Mexico Military Institute) posted a double-double with a season-high 20 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor, while grabbing a game-best 13 boards.  Freshman Greg Marshall (Gaithersburg, MD/New Mexico Military Institute) finished with 19 points, while junior Adam Radtke (Valley City, OH/Brunswick) and first-year Ed Gailor (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) added 11 and 10, respectively.

The Bears were in control early in the second half, holding the game's largest advantage at 53-33 before the hosts began to chip away.  Trailing 60-45 at the 11:40 mark, Wheaton rattled off 22 of the game's next 27 points in taking its lone lead of the contest at 67-65 thanks to a Stehle tip-in with 4:27 to play.  Five straight points put Coast Guard back in front by three before a Faucher triple knotted the game at 70 at 3:05.

James responded with consecutive baskets 44 seconds apart to give the visitors a 74-70 edge with 1:49 left, and the Bears maintained at least a three-point edge until Coppola drained a three with seven ticks on the clock to pull the Lyons within two at 78-76.  With Wheaton forced to foul, Gailor sank two freebies with four seconds left to seal the win.

In the opening half, Coast Guard shot 55.6 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent beyond the three-point arc while committing just five turnovers.  Wheaton knocked down all 12 of its free-throw attempts but shot just 32.1 percent.  The Lyons stayed close early, trailing 8-7 at the 16-minute mark and 19-17 at 10:28 before the Bears went on a 21-8 run over 6:19 for a 40-25 advantage with 3:59 to go.  Coast Guard extended its lead to 17 before heading into the locker room with a 46-31 edge.

Wheaton finishes the first half of its conference schedule on Saturday at nationally-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at 1:00 p.m.  The Engineers are ranked eighth by D3hoops.com.