NEW LONDON, N.H. – Senior forward Aaron Williams (Springfield, Mass.) poured in 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team to an 89-81 victory over host Colby-Sawyer College this afternoon at the Hogan Sports Center in New London, N.H.

The Lyons improve to 5-5 on the season, while the Chargers fall to 4-6.

Wheaton shot 48.2% (27-56) from the floor, including 13-24 (54.2%) from three-point range. The 13 trifectas rank as the eighth-most in a game in school history for the Lyons.

Williams made 16 of 19 free throws to mark the third-highest total of successful free throws in school history and his total ranks as the second-most by any player in NCAA Division III this season. He added three assists, two steals and three blocks and has scored 30 or more points in four of his last five games. Senior guard Evan Cook (Dunstable, Mass.) netted a career-high of 20 points to eclipse his former best of 19 points scored in his first collegiate game. In addition he was 7-10 from the field, including 4-5 from beyond the three-point arc, grabbed two rebounds, handed out a pair of assists and came up with a steal. Senior guard Marckenley Lima (Roslindale, Mass.) came off the bench to score 14 points in 22 minutes, including 4-7 from three-point territory, and added three rebounds, two assists and two steals. 

Senior guard Scott Lampron (Concord, N.H.) led Colby-Sawyer with 25 points on 9-15 shooting and pulled down four rebounds to go with three assists, while senior forward Conor Kelly (Charlestown, Mass.) contributed with 16 points on 6-10 from the floor, four rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Omar Boone (Colorado City, Texas) chipped in with 14 points, two rebounds, three blocks, an assist and a steal.

Colby-Sawyer owned a 68-64 lead with 5:58 to play in the second half, before Williams converted a pair of free throws to give Wheaton a 69-68 edge at the 4:35 mark for the first of six lead changes over the next three minutes of play.

Terrance Harvey later made a layup for the Chargers with 1:46 to play to give them a 79-78 lead, but the Lyons went on a blistering 11-2 run to close out the game for the victory. 

The teams were tied at 7-7 early in the game with 16:38 to play in the opening half. Colby-Sawyer ripped off seven unanswered points as part of a 16-5 run to take its largest lead of the day at 23-12 with 9:50 showing on the first half clock. Lampron fueled the stretch with 10 points for the home team.

Wheaton responded by going on a 10-2 run to pull to within 25-22 with 7:01 to play, but the Chargers later bumped their lead to 29-22 with 5:19 to go in the first half. The Lyons put together an 18-8 stretch, including 10 points from Williams, to take a 40-37 margin with 77 seconds to go in the half. Wheaton clung to a 40-39 lead at the intermission.

Three-pointers from Cook, sophomore guard Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.) and senior guard Alex Carlisle (Saint Johnsbury, Vt.) gave the Lyons a 49-42 lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Wheaton later held a 55-48 advantage with 15:07 left in the second stanza.

Colby-Sawyer stormed back with a 17-6 burst, paced by seven points from Boone, to take a 65-61 lead at the 6:47 mark of the second half. 

Wheaton returns to action on Wednesday, January 4 when it opens the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference slate at 4:00 p.m. against United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. to claim the unique feat of playing in a city of the same name, but different state in back-to-back games. The Chargers are on the court again on January 3 when they travel to New Haven, Conn. to take on Albertus Magnus College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play at 7:30 p.m.