Battaglia, O'Loughlin combine for 36 points in loss

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Wheaton College men's basketball team fell to WPI, ranked No. 8 in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, 92-68, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action inside Harrington Auditorium on Saturday afternoon. 

Senior guard Mike O'Loughlin (Milford, N.H./Milford) and junior guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./Taft School) each netted 18 points to lead the Lyons. O'Loughlin came off the bench and shot 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from long range alongside three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Battaglia went 7-for-16 from the field, grabbed four boards (two offensive), handed out a pair of assists and registered one steal.

First-year forward Liam Bruno (Newton, Mass./Newton North) chipped in with 10 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) pulled in a team-high five caroms and dished out a team-high five assists. 

WPI was paced by senior forward Sam Longwell (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxboro) who recorded his first career triple-double with a game-high 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Junior guard Zach Karalis (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) came off of the bench with 18 points for the Engineers, while senior forward Domenick Mastascusa (North Reading, Mass./Malden Catholic) tallied 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore guard Sean Doncaster (Medford, Mass./Medford) aided the offense with 10 points, a team-high four steals, three rebounds and two assists.

The Engineers jumped out to a quick lead with a 13-5 run over the first 3:16 of the opening stanza. The spurt was sparked by six points from Longwell, a trey from junior guard Aaron Davis (Marshfield, Mass./Brooks School), and a jumper from first-year forward Obi Obiora (Boston, Mass./Brookline) and a layup via Doncaster. 

The Lyons answered with a quick 8-4 run of their own to pull within their closest margin of the game at two points (15-13) with 14:47 remaining in the half. Battaglia sank back-back three-pointers and a jumper, while Capstick added a three-pointer close the run. WPI outscored the Lyons 32-24 over the closing 13:30 of action in the opening stanza to take a 51-37 going into the break.

WPI and Wheaton traded points to open the second half as Wheaton was able to cut its deficit to 11 points (55-44) at 17:54 after the Blue and White knocked down four of the next five baskets. Capstick and Battaglia sank layups, while Bruno and O'Loughlin each hit a three-point shot.

The Engineers responded with a 17-9 run over the closing 6:49 of the matchup, which featured a pair of three-pointers from Karalis and a trey from Davis, to seal the victory.

Wheaton shot 43.6-percent (24-for-55) from the field, 39.1-percent (9-for-23) from three-point range and 61.1-percent (11-for-18) from the free throw line. WPI shot 52.9-percent (36-for-68) from the field, 35.0-percent (7-for-20) from long-range and 76.5-percent (13-for-17) from the charity stripe.

The Engineers held a 38-33 advantage in rebounds, a 42-22 margin in points in the paint and a slim 35-32 differential in points from the bench.

Wheaton (3-13, 0-6 NEWMAC) returns home next Wednesday for a NEWMAC clash with MIT at 7 p.m. WPI (15-2, 5-1 NEWMAC) hosts Coast Guard for a conference matchup next Wednesday with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. 

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