Wheaton Basketball Tops Framingham State

Wheaton College freshman guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn./The Taft School) and sophomore forward Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass./Marianapolis Prep) scored 46 points combined to lead the Lyons basketball team past Framingham State University, 87-73, in non-conference action on Monday afternoon in Emerson Gymnasium. 

Capstick led all scorers with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field, eight rebounds, three steals, three assists and one block. Capstick also shot 4-for-5 from three-point range and went 5-for-8 at the free throw line. Battaglia posted a career-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, three rebounds, three steals and one helper. 

Sophomore guard Jaycob Morales (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) added 12 points, four assists and two rebounds while classmate Ryan Clinesmith (New York, N.Y./The Hill School)chipped in with ten points, five caroms, one block and one steal. 

The Rams had four players score in double-figures on the afternoon as junior forward Elijah Chisholm (East Boston, Mass./East Boston) and freshmen guards Justin Bryan (Red Oak, Texas/Red Oak) and Joe McCabe (Canton, Mass./Canton) all tied for the team lead with 12 points apiece. Senior forward Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass./East Boston) contributed ten points, two boards, two assists and two steals. 

Wheaton shot 49.2-percent (29-for-59) from the field, 37.0-percent (10-for-27) from long distance and 65.6-percent (19-for-29) at the free throw line. Framingham State went 34.9-percent (22-for-63) from the field, 26.3-percent (5-for-19) from three-point range and 80.0-percent (24-for-30) at the line. The Rams outrebounded the Lyons, 39-38, and outscored the hosts 19-15 in second chance points. Wheaton outscored the visitors, 34-24, in the paint, 20-8 on the fast break and 58-32 in bench points. 

Ahead by six points (39-33) to begin the second half, the Lyons raced out to a 14-point advantage (54-40) using a 15-7 run to open up the second stanza. Cannon guided Wheaton offensively with four points during the run while Clinesmith made a pair of free throws to get the offense going 11-seconds into the half. Morales canned a three-pointer from the right wing at 18:17, senior forward Brian Johnson (Roxbury, Mass./Brimmer and May School) swished a three-ball from the left corner at 17:28 and Capstick converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 13:53 mark to round out the scoring. 

The Lyons pushed their lead to as many as 23 points (74-51) with 6:04 remaining in the contest as Battaglia drained a wide open three-pointer from the right wing on a feed from Morales. Capstick had 12 points in the second half to pace the squad while Battaglia turned in ten points. 

In the first half, Framingham State erased a four point deficit with 8:26 left to play orchestrating a 9-1 run to take its last lead of the game at 27-23. McCabe scored five points during that stretch, Ajao went 1-for-2 from the free throw line and freshman guard Tim McCarthy (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) jumpstarted the rally with a three-pointer at the 7:43 mark. 

Capstick responded with a three-pointer of his own on the fast break at 5:01 and the Lyons closed out the remainder of the half with a 10-6 push and never looked back.

Wheaton (7-9, 0-5 NEWMAC) hosts Coast Guard on Wednesday, Jan. 23 in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup at 6 p.m. Framingham State (8-11, 1-5 MASCAC) welcomes Worcester State University to campus on Saturday, January 26 for a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) showdown at 5:30 p.m. The Lyons snapped a six-game losing streak this afternoon and now hold a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series against the Rams dating back to the 1993-1994 season.