NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's basketball team used a key 13-2 second-half run to build upon a five-point lead en route to a 75-55 victory against Roger Williams University on Thursday evening in Emerson Gymnasium. The Lyons are now 6-1, while the Hawks fell to 3-4.

In the second stanza, neither team led by more than five points until junior Jaxon Leo's (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) cutting lay-up off senior Nick Michel's (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) pass gave the Lyons a 47-41 advantage at 13:04. Wheaton pushed out to a nine-point lead when sophomore Anthony Coppola's (Watertown, MA/Watertown) three made it 52-43 with 10:51 to go and, after the Hawks edged to within 54-49, the Lyons went on their crucial run. Coppola scored seven of Wheaton's points during that stretch, which lasted for 3:10 and put the hosts up by a 67-51 count with 5:18 remaining.

Wheaton shot 48.4 percent in the second half but committed just five turnovers while forcing 15 off the hands of Roger Williams. The Hawks knocked down only 36.4 percent of their shots, including going 1-of-6 from three-point range, while the Lyons went 8-of-10 at the charity stripe. Wheaton also narrowly outrebounded the visitors, 16-14 without yielding an offensive board. That came after the Hawks held a 19-11 first-half advantage on the boards, including 10-2 at the offensive end. The Blue and White shot 55.0 percent in the opening half, going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and shooting 9-of-11 on free-throw tries.

In the opening period, Wheaton scored six of the first seven points and crept out to an 11-5 lead at 12:55 when freshman Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA/Worcester Academy) nailed a three-pointer, but the Hawks scored the next 11 points during a 2:21 span, going 5-of-5. Senior Billy Barrett (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield) had seven of Roger Williams' points in that time, including canning a three at 9:13 that capped the run and made it 16-11.

The Hawks extended their lead to as many as eight at 25-17 with 6:13 remaining in the stanza, but the Lyons went on an 18-7 run to close out the half. Seven straight Wheaton points made it 25-24, as Weeks finished the run by snagging a defensive rebound, carrying down the court and canning a three from the top of the key at 4:27. Leo knotted the contest at 31 with a long-range shot and buried two free throws with 48.6 seconds left to give the Lyons a 33-31 edge, and Michel hit a long jumper at the buzzer to create a 35-32 margin at halftime.

Wheaton finished at 51.0 percent shooting for the game, going 6-of-14 from deep and 17-of-21 on freebie tries. Coppola netted a game-high 20 points, including canning the 100th three-pointer of his career. Leo added 13 points and three assists, junior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) had 12 points and six rebounds, and Weeks provided 10 points off the bench.

Barrett totaled 17 points to lead the Hawks, going 5-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Corey Fava (Aliso Viejo, CA/Saint Margaret's Episcopal School) added eight points, while classmates Kyle Bogucki (Clinton, CT/The Morgan School) and Taylor Petruccelli (Stratford, CT/Saint Joseph) snagged seven rebounds apiece.

The Lyons complete their first-semester home slate on Saturday when they host local rival Bridgewater State College at 3:00 p.m. in the second half of a doubleheader.