BABSON PARK, MA- A balanced scoring attack that saw its five starters all score between eight and 12 points aided the Wheaton College men's basketball team's big second-half rally, as the Lyons erased a 10-point deficit during a 70-65 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over Babson College on Thursday night in Staake Gymnasium.

Moving into a tie for fourth place in the league standings, the Lyons improve to 8-14 overall and 4-6 in league play, while the Beavers lost their fourth straight to fall to 9-13 and 2-8.

Wheaton hit on 50.0 percent of its shots, including a 60.9-percent clip in the second half, and made 78.9 percent of its free-throw tries while holding Babson to just 27 second-half points.  Senior Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) and junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) scored 12 points apiece, with Leo shooting 4-of-7 and Coppola 5-of-10.

Sophomore Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI/Bishop Hendricken) recorded 11 points, three assists and three steals, senior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) contributed 10 points, and freshman Brian Johnson (Roxbury, MA/Brimmer and May School) added eight.  Sophomore Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA/Worcester Academy) had seven points and six boards off the bench.

Freshman Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, NY/Saint Mark's School) paced the Beavers with 16 points and eight rebounds.  Junior Matt Zoia (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) and sophomore Matt Florio (Skillman, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) added nine markers apiece.

Winning for the sixth time in games decided by six points or less, Wheaton trailed 50-40 with less than 15 minutes to play.  Weeks' three at 14:53 sparked a 9-0 Lyon run, which was capped by a Leo jumper at 11:24.  Behind 55-52 with less than eight minutes remaining, Wheaton ripped off seven straight points for a 59-55 edge at 6:02.

Babson got as close as one two times, with the latter coming with 42 seconds left.  Degnan's lay-in with 10 ticks to play made the score 58-55, and after a missed Beaver free throw, Coppola snagged the rebound and was fouled.  Coppola knocked down both freebies at two seconds before stealing the inbounds pass as time expired.

In the opening half, seven lead changes and three ties took place through the first eight-plus minutes, as the hosts held a 15-13 edge with 11:36 to go before the intermission.  Neither team led by more than four points until a Zoia three at 2:10 made the score 34-29 in Babson's favor.  The three sparked a 7-0 run by the Beavers, who carried a 38-29 advantage into the locker room. 

The Lyons have the weekend off and will return to the hardwood on Wednesday for their regular season home finale against nationally-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at 5:30 p.m.  The Engineers are ranked 11th nationally in the latest D3hoops.com poll.