Springfield, MA -- In their final home game of their careers, seniors Matt Cavalieri (West Warwick, RI) and Billy Harkins (Bellmore, NY) shined as the Springfield College men's basketball team knocked off No. 10 WPI, 72-60, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) clash on Wednesday evening in Blake Arena.
The win raises Springfield's record to 15-9 overall, 7-4 in the NEWMAC. WPI falls to 20-4 overall, 10-1 in the conference. WPI's winning streak of 13 is halted. WPI was also trying to become the first NEWMAC men's basketball team to go 11-0 to start the conference portion of its season.
The win for Springfield was important in that it allowed SC to slip into second place in league play all alone. Earlier this evening, MIT lost to Wheaton, 80-72. Springfield and MIT had been tied for second when the evening began.
Cavalieri scored a game-best 21 points and also had a game-high 11 rebounds, to go along with two assists and two steals. He was 8-of-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
Harkins had an outstanding game. Not only did he score 18 points, he also came up with four rebounds, a game-high seven assists, and a game-high four steals. He was 3-of-3 from 3-point range, and 9-of-10 from the line. Harkins also faced extra pressure tonight in that back-up point guard Matt Pascuzzo(Wallingford, CT) was out of the line-up because of a hand injury. Pascuzzo is expected to return for Saturday's game.
For the Engineers, three players scored in double figures. They were senior guard Jeffrey Robinson (Granby, CT) with 14 points (plus seven rebounds), senior forward Ben Etten (Hollis, NH) with 13 points (plus seven rebounds and three assists), and junior forward Jerome Stewart (Bloomfield, CT) with 11 points (and five rebounds).
After both teams came out of the gate shooting the ball well, WPI was able to build its largest lead of the opening half after Robinson converted in the paint with 11:42 on the clock to make it a 16-12 ball game. Over the next 6:59, the Pride poured on an 11-2 run to open up a 23-18 lead after Pat Rossi (Rock Tavern, NY) hit a free throw. A Jerome Stewart (Bloomfield, CT) lay-up cut it to three, only to have Springfield's lead grow to eight after Harkins cashed in on a three from the left wing to make it 28-20. Cavalieri converted on a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left in the half to give Springfield a 31-24 lead going into the locker room.
Springfield got to the line early and often in the first half as it shot 12-of-19 from the charity stripe, compared to just a 3 for 5 performance for WPI. The Pride was also able turn 10 WPI turnovers into 12 points.
WPI wraps up its regular season at home on Saturday when they host Clark at 2pm. Springfield ventures to Cambridge to take on MIT at 3pm.
Release courtesy of Springfield Sports Information