NORTON, Mass. – The Coast Guard men's basketball team returned to the court on Wednesday evening for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest against the Wheaton Lyons. The Lyons defeated the visiting Bears 85-64 in Emerson Gymnasium.

Kevin Alvarez was the go-to-guy for the Bears (6-5, 0-1), ending the evening with 15 points on 6-12 shooting, while both Micah Baldez and Ethan Boose netted 10 points apiece. Mark Krebs finished with a team-high six rebounds for Coast Guard.

Senior Billy Battaglia led all players with 20 points for Wheaton (7-3, 1-0) on a 5-14 performance from the floor and an 8-9 night from the free-throw line. Freshman David Carbonello ended the night with 14 points off the bench for the Lyons, while sophomore Ryan Fogarty knocked down 13. Junior Timothy Berry chipped in 12 points and eight boards, while junior Quinton Dale led all players with 12 rebounds and four blocks.

Coast Guard captured the first lead of the game with a quick layup by Boose, which was followed up by a three-pointer from Baldez for a 5-3 advantage. Back-to-back free-throws by Battaglia with 17:18 on the clock gave Wheaton the lead, which they would hold onto for the remainder of the half.

Berry earned the Lyons their first double-digit of the game at the 4:45 mark with a put back layup. Wheaton increased its lead to 19 right before the half with a fast break layup by Carbonello with just six seconds remaining.

The Lyons opened the second half with a Fogarty layup but it was the Bears who came out on fire. A layup by Alvarez with 19:26 on the clock sparked a 13-2 run by the Coast Guard which was capped off by a three pointer by junior Adrian Chuquillangui.

The comeback hopes were short lived as Wheaton responded, earning a 20 point lead with 11:11 remaining. The Lyons picked up their largest lead of the game at the 4:31 mark when Duaka Ekwensi put in a fast break layup, making it an 82-55 contest. Coast Guard went onto shave six points off the deficit but that would be as close as they would get.

The Bears shot 23-60 (38.3%) from the floor and 43.8% (7-16) from beyond the arc.

The Lyons shot 43.7% (31-71) from the floor and 8-26 (30.8%) from three. Wheaton was dominant inside grabbing 53 rebounds and racking up 44 points in the paint.

The Bears travel to Emerson on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip-off.