NORTON, Mass. — Junior guard Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.) scored a career-high 23 points, including five three-pointers, to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team to a 76-56 victory this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons have won five of their last six games to improve to 6-3 overall, including 1-1 in league play, while the Engineers fall to 2-8 and 1-1.
Wheaton's defense held MIT to just 38.6% (22-57) shooting from the field and held an opponent under 60 points for the fourth time this season and the third occasion in the last four games. The Lyons dominated the glass with a 50-26 rebound advantage, including 21 offensive caroms that turned into a 12-2 second chance point disparity.
Murphy was also 6-6 from the free throw line and added four rebounds, two steals and an assist for Wheaton. First year guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) netted a career-best 13 points in addition to three steals, two assists and a career-high seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) chipped in with eight points, two assists and a pair of steals.
First year guard Isaac Dobie (Kitty Hawk, N.C.) led all scorers with a personal-high 25 points on 10-18 from the field to go with three rebounds, an assist and a steal for the Engineers, while first year guard Michael Zhang (Jacksonville, Fla.) contributed with 10 points and three rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
The Lyons scored the first five points of the game, including a trifecta from Murphy to set the tone for his day's production. MIT went on an 8-2 run, led by four points from Dobie, to take its only lead of the day at 8-7 with 13:16 showing in the opening half.
Wheaton posted back-to-back scoring runs with a 13-5 stretch, paced by four points each from sophomore guard Chris Billone (Windham, N.H.) and Iafrate, to take a 20-13 advantage with 6:48 to go in the half. Dobie converted a layup to interrupt the home team's offensive attack and cut the margin to 20-15. The Lyons pulled away with a 16-3 burst, fueled by seven points from senior guard Jaden Keliher (Amesbury, Mass.). The second run gave Wheaton a comfortable 36-18 cushion with 71 seconds remaining in the first session.
Murphy scored the final three points of the half with a trio of free throws to put the Lyons up 39-21 at the intermission.
Junior forward Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan) drilled a three-pointer to give Wheaton a 46-25 advantage at the 15:49 mark of the second half, but the Engineers reeled off six straight points, including four from first year guard Merlin Gogolin (New York, N.Y.), to cut the margin to 46-31 at 14:28.
Murphy put the Lyons on his back for the next minute and a half with eight points during a 10-2 stretch that saw them increase their lead to 56-33 with 12:43 showing on the second half clock.
Zhang later connected on a pair of free throws to pull MIT to within 61-42 with 9:46 to go in the game, before Murphy capped 10 unanswered points with another three-ball to give Wheaton its largest lead of the afternoon at 71-42 with 6:39 to play in the contest.
The Engineers closed out the game with a 14-5 burst, including eight points from Zhang and six from senior guard Jake Jones (Weston, Conn.) to set the final at 76-56.
The Lyons return to action after the New Year when they travel to Springfield, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Springfield College on Wednesday, January 3 at 7:00 p.m., while MIT hosts Husson University on December 11 at 7:00 p.m.
