Men's Basketball Drops Hampton Inn Classic Final To Wheaton, 78-66

N. Dartmouth, MA --- Wheaton sophomore Mike O'Loughlin (Milford, NH) netted a game-best 22 points and six boards to help lead the Lyons to a 78-66 victory over Worcester State in the Hampton Inn Classic championship this evening at UMass Dartmouth.

Wheaton (2-0) was also paced by sophomore Ryan Clinesmith (New York, NY) who finished with 14 points, a contest-best nine rebounds and two blocks while freshman Eric Davis (Manchester, NH) was perfect from three-point land with a four-for-four performance from downtown.

O'Loughlin did his damage on a 7-for-14 performance from the field and he was 7-for-7 from the charity stripe as the Lyons connected for 47 percent of their shots for the game (27-for-58).

Junior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) was solid for the Lancers (1-1) with a squad-best 18 points, five caroms and four steals while freshman Alex Lopez (Springfield, MA/Commerce) contributed 11 points and four rebounds.

Third-year Jeremy Ross (Holden, MA) chipped in with 10 points, five boards, two assists and a pair of swipe off the bench for WSU.

Both Jobst and Lopez were Worcester State's representatives on the All-Tournament team.

The contest was a back and forth affair over the first 10 minutes as the lead changed hands on a trio of occasions and the game was knotted up six times as Wheaton did hold a six point lead twice around the 15:00 mark.

With the score tied 19-19 with 10:12 on the clock, the Lancers used a 13-3 run to take over the 32-22 advantage with 6:17 remaining in the opening frame on the back end of consecutive trey's by Jobst.

The Lyons slowly responded and outscored the Blue and Gold 16-7 to trail by just one at the intermission (39-38). A three-point basket by sophomore Jaycob Morales (Lawrence, MA) started the rally that featured four buckets in the paint and freshman Malcom Thomas (Plainfield, NJ) finished things off with a shot from downtown.

Worcester State got to within one three times over the first five minutes of the second half and trailed 52-46 with 13:21 left, but Wheaton utilized a 12-3 spurt over the next 7½ minutes for the 68-55 advantage.

The Lancers used a pair of three pointers by Jobst and Lopez to slice into the deficit and make it a 68-64 edge by the Lyons with 4:07 on the clock.

However, Wheaton sank their final six shots from the free throw line down the stretch to walk away with the tournament crown.

Worcester State will play Clark on Thursday, November 29 on the road after the break while the Lyons host Emerson in their home opener on Tuesday.