By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Wheaton College men's basketball team put together a 28-3 run on the way to an 86-78 victory over Bridgewater State University Tuesday night.

The Bears held a 27-21 lead over the Lyons late in the first half and were outscored, 12-0, in the final 3:01 before the break and then 16-3 to open the second half.

BSU (3-2) had won three of the last four meetings against Wheaton (2-3) before the loss at the Tinsley Center.

Sophomore Josh Campbell (Plymouth, Mass.) led the Bears with 24 points, hitting three 3-pointers, to go with seven rebounds.

Junior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) was the only other BSU player in double figures with 13 points, hitting four 3-pointers, to go with seven rebounds and four assists.

The Lyons had three players score 20 points each in the non-conference win.

Sophomore Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) made eight foul shots while scoring his 20 and had eight rebounds and seven assists.

Junior Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) connected on four 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds while junior Tristan Henry (Taunton, Mass.) made four 3-pointers.

The Bears had 16 turnovers which Wheaton turned into 25 points.

BSU shot 44 percent from the field while Wheaton hit 41 percent of its shots and the Lyons had a slight edge in 3-pointers, 13-12.

The Bears took a six-point lead with 3:25 remaining in the first half on a layup by junior Nicolas Bontemps (Coral Springs, Fla.) for the 27-21 advantage.

But the Lyons were in control the final 3:01 of the half, scoring 12 unanswered points for a 33-27 lead at halftime. The Bears had three turnovers and missed their only two shots in that stretch.

In the first 2:09 of the second half, Wheaton went on a 16-3 run to take a 49-30 lead.

A 3-pointer by junior Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) finished that 28-3 spurt that turned the game in Wheaton's favor.

The Lyons made their first five shots, hitting four 3-pointers in just over two minutes to open the half.

BSU got back within 10 at 54-44 on a layup by junior Samuel Omisore (Boston, Mass.) with 13:21 remaining.

The Bears closed the gap to 62-54 with 8:58 left on a Campbell 3-pointer.

BSU was within 79-73 with 1:53 to go on a Bontemps' layup, but Henry made four foul shots to make it 83-73. After a 3-pointer by junior Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) for the Bears, Iafrate hit two free throws in the closing seconds for a nine-point lead.

Wheaton outscored BSU, 52-51, in the second half.

The teams struggled at the offensive end for a portion of the first half. The Lyons missed 13 straight shots and the Bears seven in a row during one stretch.

Wheaton led, 12-11, with 15:23 to go in the half, and the Bears held a 15-13 lead seven minutes later.

BSU is on the road Saturday, playing in Boston against Wentworth at 1 p.m. while Wheaton is at Gordon Thursday at 6 p.m.