Battaglia, Fogarty combine for 48 points

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College men's basketball team dropped a 71-65 decision to Clark University on Saturday afternoon in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest at Emerson Gymnasium.

Wheaton junior guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./Taft School) tallied a game-high 25 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field (11-for-12 at the free throw line) and first-year guard Ryan Fogarty (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) poured in 23 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out two assists and had two steals to highlight the offense. Senior guards Mike O'Loughlin (Milford, N.H./Milford) and Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) also combined for 12 points.

Clark swingman Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) led the visitors with 19 points, while sophomore forward David Mercier (Milford, Mass./Milford) posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) filled the stat sheet for the Cougars with 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The first half showcased some back-and-forth action as the opening stanza featured four lead changes and three ties. Musler opened up the contest with seven straight points to push Clark to an eventual 15-7 advantage and an eight point lead – the largest of the half – with 13:35 remaining on the scoreboard.

Wheaton responded with a 13-3 run, culminating in the third lead change of the half, receiving five points from O'Loughlin and four more from Fogarty to highlight the spurt. The Lyons pushed the gap to as many as five points (24-19, 5:27) before Clark answered with an 11-5 run of its own to close out the half and a take a slim 30-29 lead into the break.

Musler, who was one of five scorers to contribute to the run, cleaned up a three-pointer near the right side of the rim as time expired to give the Cougars the one-point gap on the scoreboard after DaPrato missed a look from the top of the arc.

In the second half, Battaglia opened up play with a three-pointer to reclaim the advantage at 32-30, but Musler countered with a long range shot of his own two possessions later and Clark never relinquished the lead again for the remainder of the matchup. The Lyons came within one point with 17:29 left to play (35-34) and made it at least a two-possession game or less 16 more times during the rest of the stanza.

The Lyons shot 36.0-percent (18-for-50) from the floor, 29.4-percent (5-for-17) from long distance and 75.0-percent (24-for-32) at the line. The Cougars produced a 43.1 (22-for-51) field goal percentage, 31.8 (7-for-22) three-point field goal percentage and a 69.0 (20-for-29) free throw percentage. The visitors out-rebounded the Blue and White, 36-31, and also held a 28-20 differential in points in the paint.

Wheaton (3-8, 0-2 NEWMAC) hosts Springfield College on Wednesday, January 14 in a NEWMAC clash at 7 p.m. Clark (6-7, 1-1 NEWMAC) travels to Emerson College next Wednesday for a conference matchup schedule to tip-off at 7 p.m.

For the latest on Wheaton College Athletics, follow the Lyons via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.