Worcester, MA --- Preseason All-America Jeffrey Robinson (Granby, CT) scored all six of his points in overtime, including the game-winner with 10.1 seconds remaining, to propel WPI to a dramatic 60-59 victory over visiting Rhode Island College in a non-conference men's basketball contest on Thursday.
Trailing by three points with under 30 seconds left in the extra session, Robinson connected on a layup with 26.3 seconds remaining to slice the Anchormen advantage to 59-58. After RIC missed a pair of free throws, Robinson sunk a quick, off-balance 12-foot jumper in the paint to give the Engineers the lead. Rhode Island College had one last shot but a layup rimmed out as time expired.
WPI had forced overtime with an acrobatic conventional 3-point play by Jaime Shannon (Lowell, MA) with 16.2 seconds left in regulation. Both teams had a shot to win in the final seconds as RIC had a layup land out of bounds with 1.0 seconds left and Robinson's heave from just inside midcourt just rimmed out.
The second half and overtime featured six ties and eight lead changes with neither team enjoying an advantage larger than five points over the final 25 minutes of action.
Matt Carr (Somersworth, NH) led the way for WPI with 15 points, nine rebounds, a career-high five blocks and a game-high four steals. The junior was the only WPI player in double figures in scoring.
Ricardo Bonhomme (Somerville, MA) spearheaded the WPI bench effort with a career-best seven points off the bench. His efforts highlighted the efforts of the WPI reserves, who outscored its RIC counterparts 29-7 on the night.
Carl Lee (Warwick, RI) led all scorers on the night with 16 points while Mason Choice (Newport, RI) registered a double-double (15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds) for the Anchormen. Nick Manson (Newport, RI) tossed in 12 points, with all four of his baskets coming from behind the 3-point arc while Tahrike Carter (Brooklyn, NY) added nine points, three assists and two steals.
Both teams close out first semester play on Saturday afternoon with 3pm road contests. WPI heads to Worcester County foe Fitchburg State while Rhode Island College travels to Little East Conference rival UMass Boston.