NEW LONDON, Conn. –  The Wheaton College men's basketball team fell 78-77 at Coast Guard on Saturday afternoon due to a last second free-throw with 1.1 second left by the Bears Kevin Alvarez in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game.

Wheaton slips to 8-10 on the season and 2-6 in conference, while the Coast Guard improvs to 9-9 overall and 3-5 in the NEWMAC.

Senior Billy Battaglia had 17 of his team-high 24 points in the first half for Wheaton while junior Timothy Berry finished with 20 points. Junior Quinton Dale had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Alvarez, who had 26 points in the second half, was 15 of 24 from the floor while making 7 of 9 from the foul line. Sophomore Ethan Boose added ten points and nine rebounds in the win.

Wheaton jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in just over a minute. The Lyons took their largest lead of the half 23-14 when Battaglia knocked down back-to-back three-pointers with 12:48 left.

The Lyons used a 12-2 run to turn a 34-25 lead with 6:49 left into a 46-27 cushion with 2:08 left in the first half. Wheaton led 51-33 at halftime.

Coast Guard used a 9-2 run to start the second half, the final seven by Alvarez cutting the deficit to 53-42 with 15:44 left in the game. The Lyons led 63-51 with 11:07 left before the Bears ran off nine straight to pull to within 63-60 with 9:23 to go.

Coast Guard then tied the game 68-68 on a free throw by junior Devon Zych with 4:53 on the clock.

The Bears took their first lead of the game, 74-72, on a layup by Alvarez with 2:12 left before Berry knocked down a three-pointer for a 75-74 lead. Coast Guard regained the lead 76-75 on a layup by Darius Adams with 1:34 remaining.

Berry made a pair of free throws with 24.9 seconds left giving Wheaton a 77-76 lead. But back-to-back free-throws by Alverez gave the home team the win.

The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at Babson for a 7 p.m. tip-off.