NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team was defeated by visiting Babson College, 89-72, in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play this afternoon at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons drop to 15-8 overall and 8-6 in league play, while the Beavers have won five in a row and 11 of their last 12 to improve to 17-6 and 11-3. Following today's NEWMAC contests, both teams are guaranteed to host conference tournament games in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament. 

Prior to the game, Wheaton recognized its four senior basketball players, Chris Billone (Windham, N.H.), Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.), Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) and Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) in addition to senior team manager J.P. Pinkrah.

Babson shot 55.4% (31-56) for the game and controlled the boards with a 37-18 advantage, leading to a 15-8 second-chance points margin. The Beavers were outstanding from long range, connecting on 47.8% (11-23) of their tries. Wheaton owned a 48.0% (24-50) field goal mark for the game and was 10-23 (43.5%) from three-point territory.

Junior guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) led the Lyons with a game-high 27 points on 10-15 shooting in addition to three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Herry netted 15 points, handed out a game-high six assists and pulled down a rebound.

First year guard Thomas Ferdinando (Andover, Mass.) (22) and sophomore guard Timmy Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) (20) combined for 42 points to lead Babson. Ferdinando was 7-13 from the floor, including 4-8 from three, and added seven rebounds and four assists, while Mulvey was also 4-8 from long range and grabbed three rebounds to go with an assist. Senior guard Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) finished a rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, while doling out four assists and coming up with three steals. 

Iafrate converted a layup with 9:29 left in the second half to pull Wheaton within 63-62, but  the Beavers ripped off 15 unanswered points, fueled by six points from Mulvey and five from Ferdinando, to effectively put the game out of reach at 80-62 with 4:38 remaining in the contest. The Lyons scored eight of the next 10 points, including four from Morrissey, to cut the deficit to 82-70, but it was as close as the home team would get for the remainder of the contest. 

Babson took an early 7-2 margin after a layup from O'Toole at the 15:48 mark of the first half. The visitors maintained a 14-9 difference after a steal from senior forward Tyler Lauder (Malvern, Pa.) and a layup from Ferdinando with 9:14 to go in the half. Wheaton came to life and put together a suffocating 17-4 run, paced by six points from Herry and capped by a three-ball from sophomore forward Nick Scandura (Barrington, R.I.) to give the Lyons a 26-18 lead with 8:22 showing on the first half clock. 

The Beavers answered with a 14-5 stretch, including six points from sophomore guard Logan Murphy (Sandwich, Mass.), to take a 32-31 edge with 2:15 to go in the half. Wheaton scored eight of the next 10 points, led by five points from Iafrate, to take back the lead at 39-34 with 38 seconds left in the first half, but sophomore forward Vaughn Foster (Paramus, N.J.) made a layup and got fouled for Babson, before missing the free throw. The Beavers corralled the rebound and Ferdinando took advantage of their good fortune by canning a trifecta – and just like that the teams were tied at 39-39 going into the break.

Ferdinando knocked down another three at the 16:27 mark of the second half to give Babson a 47-43 lead with 16:27 to play in the game, but Iafrate fueled an 8-2 Lyon run with five points to give the home team a 51-49 lead with 14:25 remaining in the contest. The Beavers matched it with an 8-2 run of their own, including a three-pointer from sophomore guard Ryan Frauenheim (Manasquan, N.J.), to give Babson the lead for good at 57-53 with 12:01 left in the game. 

Wheaton returns to the court on Wednesday, February 18 when it hosts Salve Regina University at 7:00 p.m., while the Beavers play the same night when they host NEWMAC rival Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 7:30 p.m.