DORCHESTER, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team fell a shot short at the buzzer from coming all the way back from an 18-point second half deficit and slipped to host University of Massachusetts Boston, 71-68, this evening at Clark Athletic Center in Dorchester, Mass.

The Lyons' four-game win streak comes to an end as they dip to 5-2, while the Beacons improve to 2-4.  

Wheaton shot over 50% from the floor for the third time this season at 51.8% (29-56), including 42.9% (9-21), but UMass Boston took advantage of 12 Lyon turnovers to take a 22-11 points off turnovers margin. The Beacons shot 50% (28-56) from the field.

Senior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) led Wheaton with 18 points on 7-13 shooting, including 4-7 from three-point range, and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) scored 17 points on 7-12 from the field and was 3-4 from three-point range in addition to six boards, three assists and a blocked shot. Junior guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) contributed with nine points, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists and sophomore forward Nick Scandura (Barrington, R.I.) netted eight big points on 3-4 shooting in addition to pulling down three rebounds, handing out an assist and blocking a shot.

Sophomore forward Cameron Perkins (Danbury, Conn.) led all scorers with 24 points on 9-17 from the field and 3-4 from three-point range to go with six caroms, two assists, a steal and a block for UMass Boston, while sophomore guard Raphel Laurent (Peabody, Mass.) poured in 23 points on 10-18 and finished a rebound short of a double-double with nine in addition to an assist and a steal.

Perkins converted a driving layup to give the Beacons their largest lead at 55-37 with 16:05 remaining in the contest. The Lyons methodically chipped away, putting together a 27-9 stretch over the next 8:50, led by eight points from Herry and six from Scandura, to pull Wheaton even at 64-64 with 4:38 to go in the game. Scandura made another layup to keep the Lyons equal at 66-66 with 3:47 showing on the second half clock. The Beacons re-grouped and scored the next five points, capped by a triple from senior guard Clayton McLaren (Brockton, Mass.), to take a 71-66 lead with 35 ticks left on the clock. Wheaton stayed within a possession when Iafrate followed with a driving uncontested layup with 11 seconds to go to make it 71-68. The Lyons got a final chance to tie the game again after UMass Boston missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity and Wheaton called time out with 2.9 seconds remaining in the game. The Lyons swung the ball around out of the timeout and got an open three-pointer, but it caught too much iron and the Beacons hung on for the win.

Wheaton opened the contest with a 12-4 lead, behind 5-7 shooting and six points from sophomore forward Rex Zadrozny (Cumberland, R.I.) and five from Morrissey in the opening five and a half minutes of the first half. UMass Boston responded with a 15-4 run, getting five points apiece from senior forward Erik Donaldson (East Longmeadow, Mass.), Perkins and Laurent, to take a 19-16 lead. The Beacons did not trail for the remainder of the contest. 

Herry later made a layup to pull the Lyons within 21-20 at the 7:53 mark of the second half, before UMass Boston ripped off 11 unanswered points, fueled by seven points from Perkins, to take a 32-20 advantage with seven and a half minutes to play in the half. Morrissey later converted a layup to cut the margin to 34-27 for Wheaton, but the Beacons closed the session with eight straight points, including five from sophomore guard Davon Sanders (Mansfield, Mass.) to take a comfortable 42-27 cushion into the intermission.

Herry made it a 10-point game with a triple at 17:12 of the second stanza for the Lyons, but the home team scored eight of the next 10 points, capped by a layup from Perkins to give UMass Boston its largest lead at 55-37.

Wheaton returns to the court on Wednesday, December 3 when it opens New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference play hosting Springfield College at 7:00 p.m., while the Beacons travel to Waltham, Mass. to take on Brandeis University on November 30 at 2:00 p.m.