MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -  The Wheaton College men's basketball team overcame a nine-point halftime deficit en route to an 82-77 victory over host Wesleyan University during Friday's Red & Black Classic championship game in Silloway Gymnasium.

Capturing their second straight tourney title in the month of December, the Lyons extended their winning streak to four games while improving to 4-6.  The Cardinals fell to 7-5 in the loss.

Junior Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, Mass./Worcester Academy) was named tournament MVP after scoring 22 points and grabbing a team-high six rebounds, while senior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) picked up all-tournament team honors after turning in a game-high 25 points.

Junior Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) matched a career high with 11 free-throw makes, going 11-of-12, while dumping in 20 points.  Coppola went a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, while Weeks shot 8-of-13 from the field.  Sophomore Mike Hall (Lynnfield, Mass./Saint John's Prep) added six points as a reserve.

Going 28-of-30 on free throws, good for 93.3 percent, Wheaton tied the fourth-highest percentage in school history.  The Blue and White made 19 of its 21 attempts in the second half alone, as the Lyons outscored Wesleyan, 51-37.  Posting its highest point total of the season, Wheaton shot 48.9 percent from the field, including a sizzling 58.3 percent in the second frame.

Sophomore Shasha Brown (Bronx, N.Y./Pedddie School) led the Cardinals with 22 points, junior Jason Mendell (Bedford, N.Y./Byram Hills) registered 14 points, while freshman Glen Thomas (Washington, D.C./Saint Albans School for Boys) neared a double-double with 10 markers and a game-best nine rebounds.

Neither team led by more than three points during the opening five minutes of the first half, as the hosts held a 13-12 edge, before Wesleyan used a 6-0 run to lead 19-12 with 12:43 on the clock.  The Cardinals maintained a seven-point advantage at 24-17 with 8:33 to go before the break before Wheaton scored 10 unanswered over a 1:53 stretch for a 27-24 edge.  Degnan had half of his team's points during the run.  Leading 29-28 at the 3:50 mark, the Lyons succumbed to a half-ending 12-2 run that put Wheaton in the hole by a 40-31 count entering the locker room.

In the second half, the visitors slowly chipped away at their deficit, scoring 15 of the frame's first 19 points for a 46-44 lead with 11:55 remaining.  Five different Lyons scored during the stretch.  A Cardinal three put the hosts back in front, but that lead proved to be short-lived, as a pair of freebies from freshman Brian Grossman (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) at 11:05 gave Wheaton back the lead for good.  Clinging to a 60-57 edge at 6:17, the Lyons went on an 11-4 run to put the game away, as the Blue and White led by 10 with six ticks on the clock.