NEW LONDON, CT- On a night when the Wheaton College men's basketball team scored just 53 points, the Lyons held homestanding Connecticut College to a mere 46 during Tuesday's defensive struggle in Luce Fieldhouse. The 46 points tied for the fourth-lowest total scored by a Wheaton opponent in school history.

The Lyons improved to 5-1 for the second straight season while snapping Connecticut College's two-game winning streak. The Camels, who needed overtime to win those two contests, fell to 3-3.

Despite the low scoring output, Wheaton held what appeared to be a comfortable 18-point advantage with under eight minutes to play, but the hosts went on a 20-5 run over 5:53 to make it 49-46 at the 1:42 mark. The Blue and White was whistled for eight fouls during that stretch, including three of the player-control variety, as Connecticut College drained nine of its 10 free-throw tries.

Freshman Eddie McGuinness' (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River) three-pointer, which proved to be the Camels' lone make in 19 attempts, narrowed the deficit to three before the Lyons responded with four straight points to put the game out of reach. Sophomores Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) and Bobby Perry (East Providence, RI/East Providence) hit a jumper and two freebies, respectively, and the hosts missed their final four three-point attempts.

Connecticut College never led, as Wheaton rattled off 15 of the game's initial 19 points by 10:47, including four each by Coppola and junior Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School). Following a Camel basket, Perry's three at 9:01 pushed the Lyons to an 18-6 lead. Wheaton held a double-digit advantage for much of the remainder of the half, extending its advantage to as many as 13 on a Coppola long-range shot at 7:06. The Blue and White carried a 26-17 edge into the break.

Wheaton shot a respectable 47.1 percent from the floor in the second half, attempting just 17 field goals, while yielding 36 percent, including 7.7 percent from three-point territory. Connecticut College made just 6-of-26 in the opening period, missing all six of its three-pointers, while the Lyons knocked down three of four threes and all three free throws.

For the game, Wheaton shot 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Coppola exceeded his 25.0 points average by dumping in a game-best 26, going 9-of-17 overall, 2-of-3 from three and 6-of-7 at the charity stripe. Perry tallied nine points, Leo finished with seven and a team-high eight boards, and junior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) pulled down six rebounds.

Freshman Demetrius Porter (Virginia Beach, VA/Salisbury School) had 14 points to lead Connecticut College, senior Billy Karis (Potsdam, NY/Worcester Academy) had eight, and junior Shavar Bernier (Dover, NH/Bridgton Academy) added a game-high nine rebounds.

Wheaton hosts non-league foe Roger Williams University on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.