Battaglia and Capstick combine for 24 Points in the loss

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Wheaton College men's basketball team fell to Clark University, 70-55, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday evening inside the Kneller Athletic Center. 

Junior guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./Taft School) led the Lyons with 14 points, which included a perfect 4-for-4 performance from the free throw line. Battaglia added five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in the effort. Senior guard Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) tallied ten points and six rebounds, while sophomore center Timothy Berry (Sterling, Mass./St. Peter Marian) pulled down a team-high nine caroms. Senior guard Mike O'Loughlin (Milford, N.H./Milford) chipped in with nine points and three rebounds off the bench.

Clark was paced by senior forward Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) with a game-high 19 points to go along with nine rebounds, four blocks, two steals and one assist, while classmate guard Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) added 15 points and three boards. Sophomore forward David Mercier (Milford, Mass./Milford) grabbed a game-high 10 caroms, while classmate Joe Atkinson (Milford, Mass./Milford) tallied 12 points and junior guard Tyler Huffman (West Hartford, Conn./Northwest Catholic) chipped in with 10 points.

Battaglia drove in for a layup and senior forward Mike Cannon (New York, N.Y./Hyde School) sank a three-pointer to give the Blue and White an early 5-4 advantage just 3:20 into the opening stanza. Clark used a 12-2 run over the next 5:40 to take the lead, 16-7, midway through the first half. The spurt featured four points from DaPrato, three points via Musler, a three-pointer by senior forward Connor Dow (Needham, Mass./Needham) and a layup from sophomore forward Lamar Berk (Saint Augustine, Fla./Saint Augustine). 

Wheaton cut the lead back to one point (18-17) after Berry drove into the paint for a layup, but this as close as the Lyons got in the opening stanza. Both teams traded baskets to close the half as the Cougars held on to a slim 28-26 margin heading into the break.

Clark maintained pressure on the Lyons over the course of the second half as the Cougars jumped out to their largest advantage in the game of 18 points with 4:19 remaining in the matchup for a score 61-43. 

Wheaton cut the lead back to 10 points (63-53) as Battaglia, Capstick and sophomore guard Ben Christopher (Northampton, Mass./Northampton) each sank layups and O'Loughlin added a free throw. The Cougars closed the game out with eight-straight free throws to claim an eventual 70-55 victory over the Lyons.

Wheaton shot 29.2-percent (19-for-65) from the floor, 22.2-percent (4-for-18) from long range and 72.2-percent (13-for-18) from the charity stripe. Clark shot 43.6-percent (24-for-55) from the field, 27.8-percent (5-for-18) from beyond the three point arc and 77.3-percent (17-for-22) from the free throw line.

The Blue and White held a 44-39 advantage in rebounds, while Clark maintained a 15-7 margin in assists and 25-21 differential in points from the bench.

Wheaton (4-17, 1-10 NEWMAC) travels to MIT for a conference match-up at 2:00 p.m on Saturday. Clark (9-13, 4-7 NEWMAC) hosts Babson, ranked No. 8 in the latest d3hoops.com national poll, at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.