Norton, Mass. – December 3, 2025 – The Springfield College men's basketball team opened New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play with a 78-64 setback to Wheaton College on the road this evening in Emerson Gymnasium.

Wheaton improved to 6-2 overall and to 1-0 in the NEWMAC, while Springfield dropped to 2-4, 0-1.

Zachary Campbell (Philadelphia, Pa.) and John Paulino (New Bedford, Mass.) guided Springfield with 11 points apiece, while Josh Hartley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed seven points and team-best five rebounds. Wheaton saw Dimetri Iafrate notch a game-high 28 points in addition to six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Rex Zadronzy tallied 16 points and five boards.

A pair of free throws by Campbell tied the score at six early in the first half before a trey by Xoren Livingston (Wayland, Mass.) off a feed from Campbell gave Springfield its first lead of the game at 13-12 less than five minutes into the contest. Springfield was able to maintain a one possession game until a 7-2 run that was sparked by a layup from Zadronzy ultimately gave Wheaton a 33-26 lead with 6:29 remaining in the first. Back-to-back tallies by Hunter Matteson (Dartmouth, Mass.) and Josiah Evely (Toronto, Ontario) made it a three point differential before six straight points from the hosts made it 39-30 as the Lyons held a 46-39 lead at the break.

Springfield opened the second outscoring Wheaton by a 9-4 margin – a run that was emphasized by a dunk from Hartley pulling the Pride within two at 50-48. Sal Pedevillano burired a shot from behind the arc to answer for Wheaton and ignited a 14-4 run for the hosts pushing the lead back to double digits at 64-52 with under seven to play in the game. The Lyons then went on a stretch of five minutes outscoring Springfield 17-8 en route to the 78-64 final. Late in the game Sean Harrigan (Pittsfield, Mass.) knocked down a trey and Campbell contributed a pair of points, but it was too late to come from behind tonight.

As a team, Wheaton held a 29-22 edge on the glass and turned 16 Springfield turnovers into 23 points. The Lyons also tallied 36 points in the paint compared to 28 for the Pride.

Springfield shot 54.2-percent from the floor (26-for-48), 31.3-percent from three point range (5-for-16) and 58.3-percent from the free throw line (7-for-12). Wheaton shot 51.8-percent from the floor (29-for-56), 38.1-percent from deep (8-for-21) and 75.0-percent from the charity stripe (12-for-16).

Springfield will return to play next Wednesday as the Pride host Coast Guard in NEWMAC action at 7:00 pm in Blake Arena.

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