CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Wheaton College senior Tristan Herry made a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining in overtime before forcing a held ball on the final possession of the game to help the visiting Lyons escape with an 84-83 overtime victory over the MIT men's basketball team in NEWMAC action on Wednesday evening at Rockwell Cage. 

THE BASICS:

• Score: Wheaton 84, MIT 83 (OT) 
• Records: Wheaton 14-7 overall (7-5 NEWMAC); MIT 5-16 overall (1-11 NEWMAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wheaton built out a double-digit lead in the first half, only to see MIT coming storming back after halftime.  
• A 9-2 Wheaton run late in the first half put the Lyons ahead, 37-28, as Rex Zadrozny capped the push with a layup at 2:23. The visitors would eventually take a nine-point advantage into the half, as five straight points from MIT's Woods Windham were met by a three pointer from Chris Billone that gave Wheaton a 42-33 advantage at the break. 
• MIT scored the first five points of the second half, but Wheaton continued to lead until the late stages. The Engineers briefly pulled within one when Michael Zhang got out in transition at 13:41 to make the score 47-46. 
• Wheaton eventually pushed the lead back to ten, as Eoin Morrissey converted on an and-one layup at 11:08 to make the score 56-46. MIT was undeterred, chipping away at the deficit before rallying to take its first lead of the night at 3:46 when Rome Delgado-Gonzalez knocked down a three in the corner on a feed from Parker Spann to make the score 65-64 MIT.  
• The game stayed within one possession until Spann knocked down a turnaround jumper with 47 seconds left in regulation to give MIT a 71-67 lead.  
• Morrissey hit on one-of-two free throws on the next Wheaton possession to make the score 71-68. Forced to foul, Wheaton sent Windham to the line where he missed on the front end of a one-and-one. The Lyons then tied the game when Morrissey connected on a deep three pointer to make the score 71-71 with 15 seconds left. 
• MIT's final attempt at the buzzer was offline for Zhang, sending the game into the extra session.  
• MIT held the lead for much of the overtime session as a driving layup from Mike Ewing with 1:15 remaining pushed the Engineers ahead by four, 83-79. 
• Morrissey connected from range again on the ensuing Wheaton possession to shrink the deficit back one, 83-82, at 1:06. 
• MIT had a chance to put the game away on the next possession but Zhang's drive to the basket inside the final minute would not go as Wheaton secured the rebound. Herry was fouled while attacking the basket on the next possession and then knocked down two free throws to give Wheaton the lead, 84-83, with 12 seconds to play and for the first time since the 2:13 mark of the second half. 
• MIT's final possession was then broken up by Herry as he forced a tie-up with Zhang at the free throw line to seal the game.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:   

• Delgado-Gonzalez had a team-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 shooting from deep. 
• Delgado-Gonzalez, Windham, Spann and Zhang all finished in double figures for MIT.  Windham scored a career-high 20 points, while Spann had 19 points and 11 boards, and Zhang added 13 points. 
• MIT finished the contest shooting 30-of-71 (42.3%) from the field. Wheaton countered at 40.6% (26-of-64) 
• The visitors made up the difference at the stripe, where the Lyons knocked down 23-of-29 free throw attempts. MIT finished 13-of-17 from the free throw line. 
• Paced by the play of Spann, MIT had a 40-28 advantage in points in the paint.

UP NEXT:  

• MIT will travel to Emerson on Saturday, February 7 for a 1:00 PM NEWMAC contest. 

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