The victory was the first for Wheaton against Tufts in the last five meetings between the teams. The Lyons improved to 9-5 overall. Tufts dropped to 3-10 with their seventh loss in the last eight games.
With the scored tied at 54-54 and 7:19 on the clock, Mahan scored 11 of Wheaton’s final 21 points to help the Lyons pull away from the Jumbos. His jumper at 4:09 gave Wheaton a 62-56 lead and capped an 8-2 run that put the visitors in the driver’s seat. The Jumbos stayed close and were within seven, 68-61, on a three-pointer by sophomore center Blaine Lay (Rockville, MD) at 2:17.
A lay-up by Mahan and two of his free throws later helped push the Lyon lead to 10, 73-63, with 1:12 to go. A four-point play by Tufts junior forward Reggie Stovell (Washington, DC) with 53 seconds on the clock gave Tufts a chance at 73-66, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Tufts got off to a good start and led by nine, 17-8, on a jumper by Lay at 13:22 of the first half. That would be their biggest lead of the night. The Jumbos led by seven, 26-19, on a three by junior guard Andrew Kaklamanos (Jupiter, FL) at 9:05, but that’s when Wheaton started to rally. Four minutes later, they led 32-31 after Mahon’s three-point play at 5:03. Tufts scored a basket on its next possession to go back up by one, but Wheaton would lead 42-38 at the break. Mahan had 11 points and four blocks at halftime, while junior Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI) had 10 points. Lay led the Jumbos with nine.
Wheaton did not trail in the second half. The Jumbos forced three ties, but each time the Lyons had an answer. Mahan and Vega were the catalysts. Vega finished with 16 points, including an 11 for 14 effort at the free throw line. Wheaton was 25 for 33 (75.8 percent) overall at the charity stripe. They hit 15 of 17 attempts in the first half (88.2%). Senior Frankie Whall (Roslindale, MA) also scored in double-digits with 11 points.
Tufts, which shot 48.1 percent (13/27) from the free throw line, got 17 points and seven rebounds from Lay. Sophomore Scott Armstrong (Rockville, MD) finished with 14 points.
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