Battaglia registers 18 points, six rebounds and three assists in the loss

BABSON PARK, Mass. – Babson College, ranked No. 15 in the latest D3hoops.com national top-25 poll, edged the Wheaton College men's basketball team, 65-63, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.

Junior guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./Taft School) paced the Lyons' offense with 18 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the field. Battaglia also chipped in with six rebounds and dished out three assists, while first-year guard Ryan Fogarty (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and sophomore forward Zach Parsons (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) each added ten points for the Blue and White. Sophomore Timothy Berry (Sterling, Mass./St. Peter Marian) netted seven points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

Babson senior forward John Wickey (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central) compiled a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Sophomore forward Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass./Taft School) added 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while senior forward Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H./New Hampton School) tallied 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, and tallied a pair of blocks in the win.

Fogarty converted on a driving layup for the Blue and White with 3:53 remaining in regulation time to even the score at 52-52. After Dean sank the back end of a pair of free throws for the Beavers, the Lyons came back once again to take a 56-55 lead with 2:40 left on the clock behind layups from Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) and Alex Sugarman (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle).

Babson went on an 8-2 spurt (1:52 elapsed) to gain a 63-58 advantage with 2:27 left to play that featured a three-pointer and a free throw from Dean and layups by Flannery and Wickey. A successful conversion on Mike Cannon's (New York, N.Y./Hyde School) first trey of the game that came with 19-seconds left to play pulled Wheaton within one point (64-63), but Flannery went 1-for-2 at the free throw line and the Lyons last-second shot attempt didn't fall to give Babson the victory.

The Blue and White held a 30-28 advantage at halftime as Battaglia and Parsons combined for 16 points in the stanza. The Lyons also limited Babson to a 28.6 field goal percentage en route to the two-point lead at the break.

Wheaton shot 46.4-percent (26-for-56) from the field, 25.0-percent (4-for-16) from long range and 70.0-percent (7-for-10) from the free throw line. The Lyons also maintained a 28-18 advantage in points scored in the paint and an 18-11 margin in points scored off the bench. Babson shot 30.4-percent (17-for-56) from the field, 31.2-percent (5-for-16) from three-point territory and 76.5-percent (26-for-34) from the charity stripe. The Beavers held a slim 36-34 differential in rebounds and a 14-2 advantage in second chance points.

Wheaton (3-10, 0-4 NEWMAC) returns home for a non-conference matchup with Fisher College at 2:00 p.m. next Monday. Five out of the ten losses for the Lyons this season have come by six points or less with three of those setbacks occurring in NEWMAC games. Babson (13-2, 3-1 NEWMAC) hosts MIT next Wednesday in NEWMAC action with tip-off slated for 8:00 p.m. The Beavers are 11-0 in 2014-15 when scoring 60 points or more in a contest.

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