Flannery and Wickey combine for 40 points

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College men's basketball team dropped an 80-59 decision to Babson College on Saturday afternoon in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action at Emerson Gymnasium.

Wheaton freshman guard Agyei Gregory (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/St. Andrews) notched his first career double-double with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 11 rebounds (four offensive) to lead the Lyons. Junior guard Mike Cannon (New York, N.Y./Hyde School) added 11 points including a 3-for-4 showing from long distance, four rebounds and one assist. Freshman forward Quinton Dale (Winthrop, Mass./Taft School) chipped in with eight points, two rebounds and two blocks.

Babson had four student-athletes in double figures, paced by freshman forward Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass./Taft School) and junior forward John Wickey (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central) who both tallied 20 points apiece. Wickey also collected ten rebounds, two assists and one steal in the victory. Junior center David Mack (Holden, Mass./Worcester Academy) recorded 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, while senior guard Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) contributed 15 points.

The Beavers outrebounded Wheaton 47-38, shot 44.6-percent (29-for-65) from the field and held a 44-20 advantage in points in the paint. The Lyons posted a 48-10 differential in bench points and registered ten blocks including a game-high three blocks from freshman center Alex Sugarman (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle).

Babson opened up the contest with an 11-0 run as Wickey fueled the offense with four points to highlight the spurt. The Beavers, who shot 51.6-percent (16-for-31) in the opening stanza, led by as many as 19 points on two separate occasions before Wheaton cut away at its deficit (39-27) headed into the break. Cannon buried a three-pointer on a feed by junior guard Jaycob Morales (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) to close the gap to 39-25 with 48-seconds left and Gregory put home a tip-in a foot in front of the free throw line as time expired to make it a 39-27 contest.

In the second half, Flannery and Wickey combined for 23 points as the Beavers pushed their advantage to as many as 27 points (73-46) at the 4:39 mark. Flannery helped hold off an early comeback push by the Lyons in the closing stanza with back-to-back two handed dunks in transition to regain momentum after the hosts nearly brought the score within single digits three times in the opening 5:38 of the half.

Wheaton (6-6, 2-2 NEWMAC) travels to Fisher College on Monday for a non-conference matchup at 2 p.m. Babson (11-4, 2-2 NEWMAC) hosts MIT on Wednesday for a NEWMAC contest beginning at 7 p.m.

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