WORCESTER, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team fell short of non-league opponent Worcester State College, 76-74 during the Blue and White's first overtime game of the season on Thursday night in Lancer Gymnasium, as junior Dave Douillette (Bridgewater, MA/Bridgewater-Raynham Regional) hit the game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds left.

Suffering their sixth loss in games decided by five points or fewer, the Lyons fell to 6-12 in their final non-conference contest of the year, while the Lancers snapped their two-game skid to move to 10-9.

Senior Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) poured in 22 points for Wheaton, while sophomore Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA/Worcester Academy) notched 13 points and six rebounds.  Classmate Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI/Bishop Hendricken) recorded 12 points, and junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) added 11.

Worcester State senior Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI/Burncoat) turned in a huge game of 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.  Junior Ryan Testagrossa (Athol, MA/Athol) accounted for 12 points and five helpers, while sophomore Jamaal Atkins (Webster, MA/Bartlett) had 10 points.

Tonight's game was evenly matched throughout, featuring 18 lead changes and 11 ties, as neither team led by more than seven points.  Second-chance points doomed Wheaton, with the Lancers holding an 18-5 advantage after pulling down 15 offensive rebounds, despite the Lyons shooting close to 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent beyond the three-point stripe and 80 percent at the charity stripe.

Wheaton took a 68-65 lead to begin the extra session behind a trio of free throws before the hosts went on a 9-2 run to lead 74-70 with 1:20 remaining.  Back-to-back lay-ups by Degnan at 1:01 and Leo with 22 ticks left forced a 74-all knot in setting up the dramatic finish.  Following a timeout, the Lyons managed to get the ball to midcourt on the inbounds toss, but their desperation three fell short.

Worcester State had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a long three with time winding down was off the mark.  Wheaton held its largest lead of seven points with 9:49 to go in the second half and maintained a five-point edge at 61-56 with under five minutes remaining before the Lancers drained three straight triples for a 65-61 lead at 3:10.  The hosts didn't score again in regulation, while the Lyons tallied the game-tying points with 2:16 to play before the teams combined to go 0-of-5 before the buzzer.

In the opening half, neither team led by more than four points, as the lead changed hands seven times in addition to there being four ties.  The Lyons led for the better part of the half, shooting 54.2 percent for a 34-32 edge at the break.

The Lyons head home on Saturday for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest against Springfield College at 1:00 p.m.  In addition to Wheaton celebrating Senior Day in the front end of a doubleheader with the women, the game will include a voluntary gate to assist in the Haitian relief efforts following January 12's earthquake.