ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Sophomore guard Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) knocked down a three-pointer and made the ensuing free throw with two seconds remaining to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team a 60-56 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Championship Game of the Michael A. Freilich Classic in at host State University of New York Oneonta's Dewar Arena in Oneonta, N.Y. on Sunday.

The win sees the Lyons improve their record to 3-1 on the year, while the Engineers dropped their first game of the season to fall to 3-1 themselves.

Perri paced the Lyons with 15 points, including the game winning shot. Senior guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) was a point behind his teammate with 14, including four three-pointers. Senior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) and fellow senior Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) both ended in the double-digits after recording 11 and 10 points respectively.

Only two Engineers would be able to design a double-digit scoring performance, as junior Yechiel Stewart (Loganville, Ga.) and junior Andrew Deppe (Hopedale, Mass.) knocked down 16 and 14 points respectively. 

An early three-pointer in the opening minutes of the first half would give RPI its only lead of the opening half, as Herry immediately knocked down two of his own triples to put Wheaton ahead 8-3. Pedevillano drained three-straight three-pointers of his own to drive the Lyons lead up to 19-8. Morrisey and Perri did the heavy lifting down the stretch as the former hit a pair of free throws and the latter knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the final minutes. The Engineers knocked down a three before the close of the half, putting them within 13 points of the Lyons at 33-20. 

Perri opened up the second half by immediately knocking down a three, but the Engineers pulled all the way back to within one point with 13 minutes to play in the game. RPI carried its momentum to the lead, as it jumped ahead of Wheaton with a three-pointer to make it 42-39 in favor of the Engineers. Junior Markus Nordin (Wenham, Mass.) tied it back up with a triple from downtown, and after each side exchanged baskets, Morrisey knocked down a  jumper to put Wheaton ahead 51-48. A clutch layup late by junior Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) put the Lyons ahead 56-52 with under three minutes in the game. The Engineers answered back with a pair of gritty buckets to tie the game at 56-56 with a sliver of time on the clock. With two seconds left to play, Perri executed his masterpiece, knocking down a contested three-pointer through contact, earning the lead for Wheaton and adding a free throw for insurance. He knocked down the bid from the stripe with ease, and the Lyons came away with the victory.

The Lyons will have Monday to rest and prepare for their next game, as they host Bridgewater State University on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. RPI faces a similar lack of rest as it also has a quick turnaround, hosting State University of New York Cobleskill on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.