NORTON, Mass. – Senior guard Alex Carlisle (Saint Johnsbury, Vt.) (27) and classmate Evan Cook (Dunstable, Mass.) (22) combined for 49 points and the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team overcame a 14-point second half deficit and held on for a 73-71 victory over host Clark University (Mass.) this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Kneller Athletic Center in Worcester, Mass. 

The Lyons have won four of their last five and improve to 12-9 overall and 7-4 in league play for their highest win total in league play since 2017-18, while clinching a spot in the NEWMAC Tournament for the first time in five years. The Cougars fall to 13-9 and 5-6.

Wheaton shot 40.3% (25-62) from the field, despite going just 3-17 (17.6%) from three-point range, while Clark owned a 41.1% (23-56) shooting mark for the game and knocked down eight three-pointers. The Lyons presence on the glass proved to be the difference with the visitors holding a 45-38 rebounding margin, including 13 offensive boards that contributed to a 15-4 advantage in second chance points. 

Carlisle was 12-21 from the floor and added three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals and moved into eighth on Wheaton's all-time career assist list with 214, while Cook was 8-15 from the field to contribute to his career-high scoring night in addition to pulling down six boards, handing out two assists and coming up with a pair of steals. Senior forward Aaron Williams (Springfield, Mass.) posted his 10th double-double of the year with 16 points and 13 boards to go with a pair of blocks and a steal. Williams now has 132 made free throws for the season for the fourth most in school history in a campaign, while breaking into the school's career top 10 at ninth with 282 makes. He also has 33 blocks in 2022-23 to put him ninth on the Lyons' all-time single-season list. Williams and Carlisle crack the program's career top 10 lists, despite missing an entire season that was canceled due to COVID-19. First year forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) contributed with five points, nine rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Sophomore forward Kekoa McArdle (Pittsfield, Mass.) led the Cougars with 15 points on 6-10 shooting in addition to six rebounds, three assists, two assists and a blocked shot, while junior guard Mikey O'Brien (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 points, five boards, three assists and two blocked shots. Junior guard Bruce Saintilus (Plainville, Mass.) scored 10 points, including a perfect 6-6 from the line and added four rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Clark opened the second half by scoring seven of the first eight points, including four free throws from Saintilus, to take its largest lead of the night at 43-29 with 18:33 to play in the second stanza.

Wheaton got right back in the game with 11 unanswered points over the next two minutes, including five from Carlisle, to cut the deficit to 43-40.

The Cougars responded with a 9-4 stretch, paced by five points from O'Brien, to increase their margin to 52-44 at the 14:22 mark of the half. 

Carlisle took over, scoring 11 points over the next four-plus minutes to fuel a 17-2 run that saw the Lyons score 13 straight points and give them the lead for good at 61-54 with 10:03 showing in the second half. 

Clark wouldn't back down, scoring the next six points with back-to-back three-balls from first year guard Reid Neumann (Burbank, Calif.) and sophomore guard Ian Calabrese (Simsbury, Conn.), to climb to within a point at 61-60 with 8:52 to go in the contest.

Wheaton responded again and Cook gave the visitors a 69-62 lead with a layup at the 5:39 mark. The Cougars scored the next five points to put them within two points for the first of three times in the final three minutes of play.

The Lyons never gave up the lead and hung on for the victory.

The teams were tied at 4-4 at 16:59 of the opening half, before Wheaton went on an 11-2 burst, led by seven points from Cook, to take a 15-6 lead with 11:46 showing on the first half clock. Clark reeled off nine straight points, including five from graduate student guard Joe Arteaga (Wyncote, Pa.), to knot the game at 15-15 with 8:36 remaining in the half. 

Cook converted a pair of free throws to keep the game tied at 24-24 with 2:52 left, but the Cougars seized the momentum with a 10-1 stretch, including eight straight points, to take a 34-25 advantage with 62 seconds left in the half. Clark took a 36-28 lead into the break.

The Lyons remain on the road when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday, February 11 at 2:00 p.m., while the Cougars host Babson College in league action on the same day at 1:00 p.m.