Worcester, MA --- Junior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) finished with a season-best 26 points as he helped pace Worcester State to a 69-58 triumph over Wheaton in non-conference men's basketball action this afternoon at the Laska Gymnasium.
Rios, who grabbed 10 rebounds in the victory, canned four trifectas. Senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) also highlighted the Lancers (2-9) as he also put up his sixth double-double in 10 games with 19 points and 18 boards.
Junior Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Misson) finished with eight points and a career-high 10 boards as freshman Noris Cuevas-Nova (Amherst, MA) chipped in with 11 points.
Sophomore Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, CT) distinguished himself for the visitors with a squad-best 16 points. Junior Mike O'Laughlin (Milford, NH) and freshman Ben Christopher (Northampton, MA) also paced a balanced attack with nine and eight points, respectively.
Wheaton (4-4) held the close 14-11 advantage near the midway point of the first half before the Lancers used a 12-2 run over a six minute span for the 23-16 edge with 4:00 on the clock.
O'Laughlin netted a lay-up and junior Jaycob Morales (Lawrence, MA) both helped trim the deficit to five points on two occasions before the end of the opening frame, but the Lancers settled for the 30-23 lead at the intermission.
With the Lancers nursing a five-point advantage early in the second period, the hosts used a 7-2 spurt and took over the 39-29 margin with 14:18 left.
As WSU continued to hold the 10 point lead four minutes later, the Lyons got themselves back into the contest with consecutive free throws and a trey by Christopher to trail 44-39 with 10:28 left.
However, Worcester State outscored their opponents 10-2 on the back of a Rios three-pointer to go up, 54-41, near the eight minute mark.
After Worcester State's margin grew to its largest of the contest with 2:40 remaining (67-50), the Lyons made a final push scoring 10 of the last 14 points of the contest for the final score.
Neither team shot well for the game as the hosts finished connecting for 34 percent (23-for-67) and Wheaton was just 30 percent from the floor (20-for-67).
The Lancers dominated the boards as they finished with a 60-37 margin in total rebounds and a 20-11 lead in offensive caroms. WSU also registered double-digit advantages in points in the paint (34-14) and second chance opportunities (28-9).
10 different Lyons notched at least one bucket as the visiting bench outscored the opposing reserves, 33-23. Wheaton also had the 12-9 margin in transition points and nearly outscored the Blue and Gold in the second half (39-34).
Both squads continue their schedules with home games in the next week. Worcester State hosts Fisher at 2 PM on Tuesday while Wheaton kicks off NEWMAC play with a 7 PM matchup against Coast Guard.