QUINCY, Mass. – Sophomore guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) netted a career-high 18 points to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team to a 70-67 victory over host Eastern Nazarene College this afternoon at the Lahue Athletic Center in Quincy, Mass.

The Lyons improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Lions fall to 1-4.

Except for scoring the first two points of the contest, Wheaton trailed for the remainder of the game until it reclaimed the lead with 7:23 to play in the game and never relinquished its margin after the 3:47 mark.

The Lyons were outstanding at the free throw line, converting 19 of 23 tries for an 82.6% clip. Eastern Nazarene shot 50% (26-52) from the floor, including 42.9% (6-14) from three-point range, while Wheaton struggled from the field and shot 38.3% (23-60). The Lyons turned the ball over just 12 times compared to the home team's total of 21 miscues.

Herry was 9-11 from the line and added three assists, three steals and a rebound for Wheaton, while first year guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) turned in an excellent all-around effort with 11 points, three boards, two assists, a pair of steals and two blocked shots. Junior forward Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan) contributed with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks. 

Junior guard Darrell Hardge (Hialeah, Fla.) led all scorers for the Lions with 21 points on 8-16 shooting, including 5-6 from three-point range, and added five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Sophomore guard JT Rosier (Miami, Fla.) chipped in with 10 points on 5-7 from the floor in addition to a rebound and a steal and first year forward Martinie Kamga (Yaounde, Cameroon) ripped down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with seven points on 3-6 from the field and dished out an assist.

Junior guard Kobe Dunbar (Lakeway, Texas) knocked down a three-pointer to give Eastern Nazarene a 52-48 lead with 8:36 to play in the game, before the Lyons took the lead for good following seven unanswered points, including a pair of free throws from Herry to give the visitors a 55-52 lead. 

The teams traded the lead four times over the next five minutes until Herry converted a layup at the 3:47 mark to give Wheaton the lead for good at 61-60. The Lyons put the game out of reach, scoring seven of the next nine points, capped by a pair of Iafrate free throws to give Wheaton its largest lead of the afternoon at 68-62 with 21 ticks left on the second half clock.

The Lions scored eight straight points to open up an early 8-2 lead with 17:12 left in the opening half. Junior forward Elijah Bishop (Saint Louis, Mo.) paced the opening burst with five points for the home team. Eastern Nazarene maintained a 16-8 advantage after Rosier made a layup with 12:28 to go in the half. 

The Lyons cut the deficit to 20-17 following a Herry layup with 8:29 remaining in the opening session. The Lions countered with the next eight points, including a pair of trifectas from Hardge to take their largest lead of the contest at 28-17 with 7:09 left in the half. Wheaton answered again with a 9-2 stretch to pull to within 30-26 at 3:27, including five points from Herry, who seemed to come up in big spots for the Lyons all afternoon. Junior guard Kobe Jones (Picayune, Miss.) converted a layup with 14 seconds to give Eastern Nazarene a 38-30 halftime cushion.

Junior guard Sammuel Prosper (Hyde Park, Mass.) hit a jumper early in the second half to increase the Lions lead to 42-32 with 18:42 showing in the period, before the Lyons ripped off seven straight points to cut the margin to 42-39 with 16:22 left in the second half. Sophomore guard Chris Billone (Windham, N.H.) fueled the run with five points. 

The battle continued to go back and forth with Eastern Nazarene scoring the next five points, capped by a jumper from Rosier to bump the Lions lead to 47-39 with 14:31 to go in the period. Wheaton punched back with a 9-2 stretch punctuated by back-to-back layups from senior guard Jaden Keliher (Amesbury, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 49-48 with 11:03 showing on the second half clock. 

Wheaton returns to action on Tuesday, November 21 when it hosts Roger Williams University at Emerson Gymnasium for its home opener in a 7:00 p.m. tip-off, while the Lions host State University of New York Cobleskill on November 28 at 5:30 p.m.