NORTON, Mass.—Junior Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.) and sophomore Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) combined for 22 of their 32 points in the second half as Wheaton College rallied to defeat visiting Babson College, 58-54, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night inside Emerson Gymnasium. 

Babson, which had its three-game winning streak snapped, drops to 11-12 overall and 7-7 in conference play. Wheaton has now won four of its last five games to improve to 13-8 overall and 7-6 in the NEWMAC. 

Graduate student Steph Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) scored a game-high 18 points and sophomore Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) posted his third straight double-double finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Beavers. Classmate Jeremiah Paul (Los Angeles, Calif.) added eight points and fellow sophomore Tyler Lauder (Malvern, Pa.) grabbed 11 boards in the loss. 

Murphy totaled 16 points and nine rebounds and Murphy had 16 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals to pace the Lyons. Junior Duncan Bubar (Newton, Mass.) and sophomore Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) also scored eight points apiece in the victory. 

Baxter and first-year NeJohn Fortes (New Bedford, Mass.) combined for nine points as the Green and White built a 16-6 lead just past the midway point of the first half. Murphy scored eight points during a 10-0 Wheaton spurt to pull even at the 4:31 mark but three points by Paul and a late triple by sophomore Mark Woolhouse (Lebanon, N.J.) helped the Beavers go back in front 26-20 at the break. 

O'Toole was the only Babson player to score over the first nine minutes of the second half and sophomore Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) capped another 10-0 run with five straight points to put he Lyons in front 37-32 with 11:01 to play. Baxter momentarily stopped the hosts' momentum with a jumper and Fortes drilled a three-pointer from the left slot before Wheaton answered with a trifecta from senior Jaden Keliher (Amesbury, Mass.) and got a transition layup from Morrissey to open its largest lead of the night at 46-37 with 7:43 to go. 

The Beavers answered back with consecutive three-pointers by Baxter and another from junior David Cross (Cinnaminson, N.J.) to cut their deficit to 48-46 just over a minute later but Herry drilled a three-ball in transition and Morrissey followed with another following a Babson turnover to stretch the margin back to 56-49 with 3:21 remaining. The Green and White got back within two thanks to a three-pointer by Baxter with 44 seconds to go but Morrissey sealed the win for the Lyons by scoring inside to make it a two-possession game with 13 ticks left. 

The Beavers, who finished with a 48-40 edge on the glass, shot just 30.9 percent from the field and were 7-of-28 (25 percent) from deep in the loss. Wheaton shot 34.5 percent for the game and outscored the visitors 13-5 at the free throw line. 

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Wheaton at 3 p.m. while Wheaton travels to Coast Guard at 1 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are 42-15 all-time against Wheaton and the teams have split their last four meetings. 
•    Babson has outrebounded its last five opponents and lost for just the third time in 13 games this winter when winning the rebounding battle.
•    Baxter has now scored at least 15 points in 17 of his last 18 games. 
•    The Beavers are 2-5 this season in games decided by five points or less.