BABSON PARK, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team was unable to limit the long-range shooting of host Babson College in a 73-55 setback tonight in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Staake Gymnasium in Babson Park, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 9-5 overall and 2-3 in league play, while the Beavers improve to 9-5 and 3-2.
Babson was outstanding from three-point range, knocking down 13 of 26 tries as part of an effort that saw the home team shoot 52.7% (29-55) overall. The Beavers took advantage of 14 Wheaton turnovers and owned a 21-6 margin in points off turnovers. The Lyons shot 42.9% (21-49) for the game, including just 25% (4-16) from beyond the three-point arc.
Senior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) led Wheaton with 14 points on 5-8 from the field and added a pair of rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) scored 13 points on 4-7 from the floor to go with two assists, a rebound and a pair of steals, while first year guard Wyatt Benoit (Saco, Maine) made the most of his minutes with 12 points on 5-6 shooting in addition to two rebounds, two steals and a steal in 13 minutes of action.
Babson sophomore guard Timmy Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) was unconscious from three-point range, hitting 8-11 to tie the school record for made threes and give him a game-high 24 points, while handing out three assists and coming up with a steal. First year guard Thomas Ferdinando (Andover, Mass.) netted 12 points, doled out a game-high five assists, pulled down four boards and came up with a steal, while sophomore guard Logan Murphy (Sandwich, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points on 4-7 from the field, including 3-5 from three-point territory to go with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Senior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) converted a layup to pull the Lyons within 46-39 with 13 minutes to play in the game, but the Beavers put together a punishing 25-6 stretch over the next eight-plus minutes, fueled by 12 points from Mulvey and five Babson triples to give the home team a commanding 71-45 cushion with 4:37 remaining in the contest. Wheaton closed out the night with a 10-2 burst, led by eight points from Benoit, but the Lyons ran out of time and the Beavers claimed a 73-55 victory.
Wheaton owned an early 9-8 edge following a three-ball from sophomore guard Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) with 14:21 showing on the first half clock. Mulvey and Murphy canned back-to-back three-pointers during an 8-2 run to give Babson a 16-11 lead with 12:26 to go in the opening stanza. The Lyons answered with eight of the next twelve points, paced by five points from Herry, to pull the visitors to within 20-19 with 9:09 showing, but it was as close as Wheaton would get for the rest of the evening.
The Beavers ripped off 11 unanswered points, capped by a trifecta from Ferdinando to give Babson a 31-19 margin at the 5:20 mark. Ferdinando later drilled another three-ball with 67 seconds left in the session to maintain the Beavers' advantage at 36-24. Perri made a layup for the final points of the half to cut the deficit to 36-26 for the Lyons.
Ferdinando again kept Babson's advantage intact with a jumper coming just 89 seconds into the second half to give the home team a 40-28 margin. Iafrate drained a three-pointer and Herry followed with a layup to pull Wheaton within 40-33 with 16:45, but the Lyons could get no closer than within seven for the rest of the game.
Wheaton returns to the court on Saturday, January 17 when it hosts NEWMAC foe Clark University at 1:00 p.m. in Emerson Gymnasium, while the Beavers host league rival Emerson College on the same day at 3:00 p.m.
