Battaglia scores 21 in loss for Lyons 

WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), ranked no.2 overall in the latest D3hoops.com Top-25 national poll, turned away the Wheaton College men's basketball team, 86-59, on Wednesday night in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup at Harrington Auditorium. 

Freshman guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./The Taft School) led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field (4-of-6 from long distance), two rebounds and one steal in 28 minutes off of the bench for the Lyons. Sophomore forward Mike O'Loughlin (Milford, N.H./Milford) notched ten points, five rebounds, one block and one steal. Senior guard Scott Faucher (Lebanon, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) had 11 points and two assists. 

Sophomore guard Jaycob Morales (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) added eight points, three rebounds and three assists while senior forward Brian Johnson (Roxbury, Mass./Brimmer and May School) tallied eight points, a team-high seven boards and one blocked shot. 

The Engineers had four out of five of their starters score in double-figures on the night to keep its undefeated season (22-0, 9-0 NEWMAC) intact. Junior forward Ryan Kolb (Southington, Conn./Holy Cross) paced WPI with 14 points and 13 rebounds (three offensive). Freshman guard Zach Karalis (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) and sophomore guard Marco Coppola (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) tied for the team-high in points with 17 apiece. 

Senior forward Joe Wesoloski (Arlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) contributed 13 points and nine rebounds while sophomore guard Sam Longwell (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxboro) registered 11 points to round out the group of scorers. 

Wheaton trailed 40-31 at halftime as Battaglia totaled 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field including three makes from beyond the arc (four attempts). O'Loughlin collected six points and four defensive rebounds to aid the Lyons' efforts in the first stanza. WPI jumped out to a 15-7 lead over the opening seven minutes and 54-seconds of action receiving seven points from Wesoloski and four points from Coppola. 

O'Loughlin opened up the scoring for Wheaton at the 16:23 mark with a layup, Johnson also finished a layup at 15:54 and Battaglia swished a three-pointer with 15:21 on the scoreboard to account for the Lyons scoring during that stretch. The Engineers widened the deficit to as many as 11 points (21-10) with 10:57 remaining in the first half before Wheaton cut the margin to six points (23-17) at 6:55. Battaglia scored six points with an old-fashioned three-point play at 11:27 and a traditional three-pointer at 10:38. O'Loughlin and Morales followed with back-to-back layups at 7:44 and 6:55, respectively, during the run. 

WPI responded with an 18-13 run to close out the half and held onto its double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest. Faucher led all scorers in the second half with eight points and four rebounds. Karalis guided the Engineers offensively with nine points, all off of three-point shots, one rebound, one assist and one steal. 

The Lyons shot 45.1-percent (23-for-51) from the field, 25.0-percent (5-for-20) from three-point range and 66.7-percent (8-for-12) at the free throw line. The hosts connected on 44.6-percent (33-for-74) of its field goals, 39.1-percent (9-for-23) from long distance and 68.8-percent (11-for-16) at the line. The Engineers won the rebound margin, 42-31, and outscored the visitors, 40-26, in the paint. 

Wheaton (9-12, 1-8 NEWMAC) travels to Coast Guard for a NEWMAC matchup on Saturday, February 9 at 3 p.m. WPI (22-0, 9-0 NEWMAC) visits Springfield College on Saturday in a conference clash at 2 p.m.