Battaglia scores career-high 35 points to send Lyons to Championship of Holiday Tourney

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Wheaton College men's basketball junior guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./Taft School) hit a go-ahead layup to give the Blue and White a 66-64 lead with four minutes remaining in the overtime session and scored nine of the Lyons final 14 points to close out non-conference opponent Anna Maria College, 78-70, in opening night of the Red & Black Holiday Tournament hosted by Wesleyan University inside Silloway Gymnasium on Friday evening. 

Battaglia led the offense with a career-high 35 points on 11-for-21 shooting from the field, 2-for-8 from long range and 11-for-13 from the free throw line. Battaglia also pulled down six boards (four offensive), tallied an assist and one steal. First-year guard Ryan Fogarty (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) netted 14 points and collected five rebounds, while senior guard Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. 

Anna Maria junior Pat Bradanese (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) registered a team-high 17 points, secured five rebounds, handed out two assists and stole the ball once for the AMCats. Classmates Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) and Pedro Trinidade (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) both came off the bench to score 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Trindade pulled down a game-high 10 caroms to record his first double-double of the season. 

Wheaton came out firing in the overtime period as Battaglia drove into the paint three-straight times to convert three layups and Capstick netted a jumper to give the Lyons a late 73-68 lead with 1:24 remaining on the clock. Fogarty sealed the game at the free throw line over the final 20 seconds burying 3-of-4 attempts to give the Lyons the eventual 78-70 overtime win. 

In the second half with 8:15 to play in the second stanza, Delorey knocked down a deep three-pointer to pull the AMCats within five points, 53-48. The trey from Delorey sparked a 14-1 run that culminated in a five-point advantage with 2:56 left in regulation. Delorey delivered five points during the spurt, senior Corey Prior (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) scored three points, and classmate Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth), Bradanese and Trinidade each made a layup in the run.

Senior guard Mike O'Loughlin (Milford, N.H./Milford) and Battaglia knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to pull the Blue and White within one (61-60) with under a minute remaining. A late foul by Delorey with three seconds on the clock then gave Battaglia the opportunity to send the game to extra time. Battaglia sank both shots from the charity stripe and sent the Lyons to their first overtime game of the season. 

The Blue and White raced out to a 17-6 lead 6:59 into the game as Battaglia scored seven points, Capstick netted four points, and sophomore Alex Sugarman (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) and O'Loughlin each converted a layup to open the game. Wheaton held its largest lead, 28-10, after a successful layup by Battaglia with 7:08 left in the first half. Anna Maria climbed back into the matchup before the opening stanza was over as the AMCats tallied 14 of the stanza's final 21 points to make the score 35-24 in favor of the Blue and White.

Wheaton shot 38.8-percent (26-for-67) from the field, 25.0-percent (4-for-12) from long distance and 66.7-percent (22-for-33) from the charity stripe. Anna Maria maintained a 38.2 shooting percentage from inside the arc, shot 25.0-percent from three-point range, and 52.0-percent (13-for-25) from the free throw line. The Lyons held a 36-28 advantage in points in the paint and a 23-18 differential in points off turnovers, while Anna Maria had a 50-43 margin in rebounds and a 32-22 advantage in points from the bench.

Wheaton (3-5) will take on Wesleyan University tomorrow afternoon in the championship game of the Red & Black Holiday Tournament at 3:00 p.m. Anna Maria (2-6) will play the University of New England in the consolation game with tip-off slated for 1:00 p.m.

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