CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior forward Aaron Williams (Springfield, Mass.) (27) and senior guard Alex Carlisle (Saint Johnsbury, Vt.) (26) combined for 53 points to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team to a 90-64 victory over host Massachusetts Institute of Technology this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Rockwell Cage in Cambridge, Mass.

The Lyons have won three in a row and five of their last six to improve to 13-9 overall and 8-4 in league play, while the Engineers fall to 4-17 and 2-10.

Wheaton dominated the glass with a 45-17 rebound advantage, including 19-1 in offensive boards. The Lyons presence in the paint translated to an 18-0 margin in second chance points and a 56-20 scoring differential in the paint. Wheaton shot 54.5% (36-66) from the field and saw 12 different players score, while MIT shot 52.1% (25-48). 

Williams posted his third straight double-double and 11th of the season with 10 rebounds and a 12-17 shooting effort to go with a steal and a blocked shot in just 25 minutes of action for the Lyons. Carlisle was 12-18 from the floor and added two rebounds, a pair of assists and three steals, while senior guard Evan Cook (Dunstable, Mass.) ripped down a career-high 12 rebounds in addition to six points, four assists and a steal. 

First year guard Rome Delgado-Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) led the Engineers with 24 points on 9-15 from the field to go with four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals, while classmate Tim Minicozzi (Belmont, Mass.) netted 19 points on 7-9 shooting, including 4-6 from three-point range and added two rebounds and a pair of assists. Sophomore guard Spencer Lin (Menlo Park, Calif.) contributed with 10 points, a game-high seven assists, and five boards. 

MIT held an 8-7 edge following a Lin jumper at the 15:31 mark of the opening half, but Wheaton put together a 13-6 stretch capped by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.) to give the visitors a 20-14 lead with 10:47 left in the opening half.

The Engineers reclaimed the lead with eight unanswered points, including six from Minicozzi, to take a 22-20 margin with 8:31 to go in the half. First year forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) drilled a three-pointer to cap a 9-2 run and give the Lyons a 29-24 advantage with 5:17 to play in the stanza. 

Lin hit a jump shot at 2:43 of the half to pull the home team to within one at 31-30 and MIT stayed within 33-32, but Carlisle scored five points to fuel an 8-2 burst to close out the half for Wheaton and give it a 41-34 intermission lead.

The Lyons continued their momentum with the first nine points of the second half as part of a 17-5 run, including six points from Carlisle and five from Williams, to increase their cushion to 58-39 with 13:26 showing in the second half. 

Minicozzi later cut the deficit to 69-55 with a three-ball at the 8:20 mark for the Engineers, but it was as close as they would get for the remainder of the contest. 

Wheaton effectively put the game out of reach with 15 straight points, including eight from Williams, to take a commanding 84-55 advantage with 3:34 to play. 

First year guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) gave the Lyons their largest lead of the afternoon with a three-pointer to make it 88-58 with 1:49 left in the game.

Wheaton returns to the court on Wednesday, February 15 when it hosts NEWMAC rival No. 20 Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 7:00 p.m. in Emerson Gymnasium, while MIT hosts Emerson College on the same night at the same time in conference action.