NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team succumbed to host Babson College, 70-65, this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action at Staake Gymnasium in Babson Park, Mass.

The Lyons dip to 10-12 overall and 5-8 in league play, while the Beavers improve to 14-9 and 8-6.

Wheaton shot 45.3% (24-53) from the floor, but was just 11-18 from the free throw line for a 61.1% mark. Babson shot 23-59 from the floor for a 39% success rate, but made all but three of its 18 free throw attempts for a 83.3% clip.

Sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) led all players with 21 points on 8-12 from the field to go with five rebounds, five assists, five steals and a blocked shot for the Lyons. Junior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) netted 11 points and grabbed eight boards in addition to a blocked shot. 

Junior forward Alex Stoddard (Wellesley, Mass.) led the Beavers with 17 points on 5-10 shooting, including 4-7 from three-point range and added four rebounds, an assist and a pair of blocks. Sophomore guard Jared Flaks (West Hartford, Conn.) scored 12 points and was 6-6 from the line to go with four rebounds, four assists and a steal, while senior guard Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) contributed with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in addition to three assists, a steal and a block.

Junior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) knocked down a triple to give Wheaton a 57-52 lead with 6:36 showing on the second half block, before Babson put together a blistering 14-2 run that served as a knockout punch. Stoddard drilled a three-ball during the run to give the Beavers the lead for good at 59-57 at the 3:46 mark. The trifecta was part of an eight-point effort during the run, while Amado scored six during the stretch that gave the home team a 66-59 advantage with 61 seconds left in the game. 

Morrissey canned a trey with 46 ticks left in the contest to pull the Lyons within 66-63, but it was as close as they would get for the remainder of the game.

Babson opened a 9-6 lead in the first four-plus minutes of the game, before Wheaton reeled off 10 straight points, as part of a 13-2 run that gave the visitors a 19-11 cushion with 12:19 to go in the opening stanza. 

The Beavers countered with nine unanswered points, including four points from senior guard David Cross (Cinnaminson, N.J.), to take a 20-19 edge with 5:46 to play in the first half. The Lyons came right back with nine of the next 12 points, paced by four points from senior forward Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan), to take a 28-23 margin with 1:54 remaining in the half. 

Babson cut the deficit to one, before Wheaton scored five of the final six points of the session, capped by a fast-break layup from Iafrate to give the Lyons a 33-28 lead heading into the intermission. 

Wheaton opened the second half with a 7-2 blitz, punctuated by a dunk from first year forward Rex Zadrozny (Cumberland, R.I.) to give the Lyons their largest lead of the night at 40-30 with 15:23 to go in the game.

Wheaton later maintained a 46-40 margin with 10:50 remaining in the contest, but the Beavers went on a 12-3 run, paced by four points from junior guard Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.), to give Babson a 52-49 lead – its first since early in the first half. The Lyons reclaimed its last lead with eight unanswered points to take a five-point margin at 57-52.

Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, February 15 when it celebrates its seniors at Emerson Gymnasium against visiting league rival United States Coast Guard Academy at 1:00 p.m., while Babson travels to Newport, R.I. to take on NEWMAC foe Salve Regina University at 3:00 p.m.