WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) (25) and junior guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) combined for 49 points and just one turnover to lead the fourth-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team to an 82-60 upset rout over top-seeded and No. 21 Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Championship Tournament Semifinals at Harrington Auditorium in Worcester, Mass.

The Lyons improve to 17-10 and advance to the NEWMAC title game against number two seed Babson College, a 78-58 winner over number three seed Salve Regina in the other semifinal, on Sunday, March 1 at 1:00 p.m. in Babson Park, Mass. The Blue and White advance to the NEWMAC Championship for the first time since they fell to WPI, 64-60, on February 26, 2005 in Worcester. The Lyons' win total is its most in a season since they finished the 2005-06 campaign 19-10.

The Engineers, who are ranked in the most recent D3hoops.com national poll, slip to 21-5 and will await the NCAA Tournament announcement on their chances for an at-large bid.

The victory was the first for Wheaton over WPI since a 71-69 win in Norton on February 8, 2012 to snap a 27-game losing streak to the Engineers. It was the first win in Worcester against WPI since a 65-51 triumph on January 14, 2012 to end a string of 14 straight road defeats. The win is also the first-ever victory in the playoffs over WPI.  

The Lyons shot 49.1% (27-55) from the floor and committed just seven turnovers in the game. The Engineers turned the ball over 15 times, translating into a 21-7 points off turnovers disparity in favor of their guests. WPI was held to just 41.1% (23-56) shooting and made just nine trips to the free throw line, making four of its attempts. 

Herry led all scorers with a season-high 25 points on 7-13 from the floor, including 3-7 from three-point range and was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line to lead a 20-24 (80%) team effort. Herry added four rebounds, two assists and no turnovers. Iafrate was brilliant on both ends of the floor for Wheaton. Arguably, the best player in the league, scored 24 points on 9-15 from the field and 3-3 from the line to go with six rebounds, three assists and a career-high matching seven steals. Senior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) netted 13 points, including a free throw with 1:19 to play in the game to make him the 18th player in program history to score 1000 career points. In addition, he pulled down seven rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with a pair of steals.   

Junior forward Justin Molen (Newark, Del.) led the Engineers with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while graduate student guard Tim Reidy (Needham, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points, two rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal. 

The Lyons entered the second half with a six-point lead, before going on a 12-3 run over the first four-minutes, paced by five points from Iafrate, to take a 51-36 lead with 15:52 left in the half. Molen cut the deficit to 53-40 for WPI with 13:56 showing on the second half clock, before Wheaton continued to gain confidence with a 12-4 stretch capped by a step-back jumper from senior guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) to increase the visitor's cushion to 65-44 with 8:46 remaining in the game. The Lyons later took their largest lead of the night on a turn-around jump shot from Iafrate to take a 69-47 advantage with 7:38 to go in the second half. The Engineers enjoyed their only dominant stretch of the second half, reeling off eight straight points, including five from first year guard Ryan Vedovelli (West Springfield, Mass.), to pull the home team within 69-55 with 5:55 left in the contest. It was as close as WPI would get for the remainder of the game. Wheaton matched the output with eight unanswered points of its own, including four from sophomore guard Sean Perri (West Roxbury, Mass.) to restore the visitors' largest lead (77-55) and leave no doubt for the game's outcome with 4:02 to go.  

The Lyons opened the game with a 7-2 lead – with all seven coming from Iafrate – to give them a five-point lead through the first 2:15 of the game. The Engineers put together a blistering 14-2 run, capped by a Matt Morvillo (Bedford, Mass.) layup, to give the home team a 16-9 advantage with 11:48 showing on the first half clock. Wheaton was undeterred, answering with a 12-5 stretch, fueled by eight points from Herry, to level the score at 21-21 with 8:32 to go in the opening half. WPI scored five of the next seven points to take a three-point lead at 26-23, before an Iafrate triple and a Herry layup gave the Lyons a 28-26 margin with 6:32 remaining in the first session. The Engineers scored five of seven points again to reclaim the difference at 31-30 with 4:27 to go. Wheaton closed out the half with a commanding 9-2 run, backed by four points from Herry, to give the visitors the sixth lead change of the half and a 39-33 intermission cushion.