NEW LONDON, CT- The Wheaton College men's basketball team continued its stretch of hot shooting performances in second halves on Saturday at the United States Coast Guard Academy, as the Lyons shot 62.5 percent from three-point range and 60.0 percent overall in the second frame while using a late 19-4 run en route to a 77-63 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) win in Merriman Gymnasium.

Coupled with Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) victory at Springfield College, Wheaton's win pushed the Lyons into fourth place in the league standings.  Earning the fourth seed in next week's conference tournament, Wheaton will host Clark University during Wednesday's opening round at a time to be determined.  Had Clark defeated Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) earlier today, the Lyons would have secured the third seed for the second consecutive season.

Extending its winning streak to a season-best three games while posting a come-from-behind victory for the third consecutive contest and fourth time in its last five games, Wheaton moves to 10-14 overall and 6-6 in the NEWMAC.  The Bears fell to 7-15 and 4-8.

Junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) went for a game-best 22 points, going 7-of-12 from the field, 4-of-5 beyond the three-point stripe and 4-of-4 at the free throw line.  Sophomore Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA/Worcester Academy) had a big second half of 14 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the floor while burying four of his five three-point attempts.  He finished with 16 points.  The Lyons made 14 threes on the day, tying for third best in program annals, while shooting 50.0 percent from deep.  The Blue and White made 51.9 percent of its baskets overall while assisting on 17 buckets and committing just 12 turnovers.

Senior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) was one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards, while classmate Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) notched a double-double with 10 points and a career-best 11 rebounds and game-high five assists.

Senior Eric Hudson (Pasadena, CA/Naval Academy Prep) paced Coast Guard with 18 points and seven rebounds.  Freshman Jimmy Knudsen (Ridge, NY/Longwood) added 16 markers and six boards, senior Stefan Lewis (Warner Robins, GA/New Mexico Military Institute) had nine points, while junior Adam Radtke (Valley City, OH/Brunswick) and freshman Greg Marshall (Gaithersburg, MD/New Mexico Military Institute) added eight points each.

With the game knotted at 53, which proved to be the contest's fifth and final tie, with 8:48 remaining, the Lyons went on their 19-4 spurt over 6:58.  Leo and Weeks each had a pair of triples to go alongside a jumper during the run for eight points apiece.  Coast Guard cut the deficit to 12 twice, but it proved to be too little too late, as a pair of Lyon freebies with 15 ticks on the clock completed the scoring.

Trailing 32-30 at the break, Wheaton scored five straight for a 35-32 edge with less than 18 minutes left.  Neither team led by more than three until a Weeks trey at 10:34 made the score 53-49.  The Bears answered with four straight before the Lyons went on their big run.

Coast Guard opened play with the game's first three points 3:00 in before the visitors responded with a 9-0 run over 1:17.  Wheaton ballooned its advantage to 25-17 with 6:26 to go before the half, but the Bears answered with 11 straight for a 28-25 edge before eventually carrying a two-point lead into the locker room.