TROY, N.Y. – Powered by a 29-point effort from junior guard James Wang, and double-digit efforts from two other player, Williams College defeated the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team, 89-73, in non-conference action on Tuesday. With the win, the fifth-ranked Ephs improve to 5-0 on the season, while the Engineers were handed their first loss, dropping to 3-1 overall.
RPI jumped out to an early lead, gaining a five-point advantage less than a minute into the contest. The Engineers led by as many as seven (17-10) with 13:37 remaining, but Williams quickly found a rhythm and turned the tide in their favor as Wang (Sydney, Australia/Canterbury School) nailed one of his game-high eight three-pointers at 11:26 for the Ephs first lead (18-17) of the game.
The Engineers tried to keep things close, trailing by six (28-22) with 8:29 left in the half on a shot from beyond the arc by senior Travis Jones (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia), but the Williams offense continued to match RPI basket for basket. The Ephs then went on a 9-0 run minutes later to gain a 15-point advantage with just 4:34 remaining.
Successful free throw shots from junior Matthew Pooley (Middletown, NY/Chapel Field Christian School) and rookie Joe Gibbons (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint John the Baptist) helped keep the visitors to within 11 points and Williams took a 44-33 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, another three-pointer from Jones helped pull RPI to within eight (47-39) less than two minutes in, but Williams broke out on a 13-0 run to build its lead to 60-39 with 13:53 remaining in the game.
The Ephs, who shot 60.4% from the field and 60.0% from three-point range for the game, continued their hot shooting over the next four minutes as they continued to match points with the Engineers at each end. Back-to-back three-pointers from Wang gave the visitors their largest lead of the contest at 23 points (73-50), but Rensselaer refused to back down, cutting the deficit to 13-points on a fastbreak layup by Gibbons with 6:35 left.
Despite hot shooting from Jones, RPI could not overcome the deficit as the Ephs shot 66.7% from three-point range in the half, including two down the stretch from Wang and junior Jordan Mickens (Titusville, NJ/Brooks School) to seal the win.
In addition to his game-high in points, Wang also finished with a game-best seven assists for Williams. Senior Troy Whittington (Brooklyn, NY/Friends Seminary) had 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while sophomore James Klemm (Highlands Ranch, CO/Heritage) finished with 14 points.
For Rensselaer, Jones went 10 of 15 from the field and 6 of 9 from three-point range for a team-high 26 points. Senior DJ Blakemore (Bloomfield Township, MI/Lahser) chipped in with 15 points, while Gibbons added nine points.
The Engineers return to action this weekend when they participate in the Tri-State Shootout, hosted by MCLA. The Engineers open against Southern Vermont on Friday (6pm) and will face either the College of St. Joseph (VT) or MCLA the following day (1:30/3:30pm). Williams is back in action on Thursday, hosting the College of St. Joseph's (VT) at 7:30pm.