Worcester, MA --- Senior David Brown (Lowell, MA) drilled three free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining in overtime to give WPI a 66-65 victory over visiting Trinity on Wednesday night at Harrington Auditorium in Worcester. WPI, ranked 24th in the latest D3hoops.con Top 25, runs its record to 12-2 on the season while Trinity falls to 9-5.
Trinity took its first lead of the game at 46-45 with 6:01 remaining in regulation on a three-pointer from Carter Trent (Little Rock, AR). Jaime Shannon (Lowell, MA) hit a huge layup to tie the game at 51-51 with 1:26 left and Trinity immediately answered with a layup from Dean to regain the lead. With 29 seconds left and WPI still down two, Marco Coppola (Watertown, MA) went to the line with a chance to tie the game. The freshman calmly buried both free throws, and Trinity missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won it. The game went into overtime tied at 53.
The overtime period was a thrilling seesaw match as both teams traded baskets looking to deliver a knockout blow. Trinity's Cameron Sutton (Queens, NY) scored the first points of the extra frame on a layup in traffic. Later, Shannon tied the game at 57-57 on a jumper, andRyan Kolb (Southington, CT) made a huge layup to give WPI its first lead of the extra period at 59-57. As they have for much of the season, the Engineers looked to Jaime Shannon for a big basket in crunch time, and the senior would deliver with a layup to give WPI a 63-59 lead with 1:06 remaining. After two Trinity free throws, WPI was called for a charge, setting up Trent for a huge 3-pointer to give the Bantams a 64-63 advantage. A jumper in the lane by Shannon didn't fall, and WPI was forced to foul. After Trinity hit one of two free throws the set the stage for Brown. Pulling up for a 3-pointer, Brown was fouled in the act of shooting, sending him to the line with a chance to put the Engineers ahead with 2.1 seconds left. The senior was more than up to the challenge, hitting all three shots. Trinity was unable to get a shot off, and WPI escaped with the victory.
The Engineer defense handcuffed the Bantams early on. Trinity's first three possessions resulted in a shot clock violation, a turnover and a block and recovery by WPI. The visitors did not score until 3:13 into the game. The Crimson and Gray held a narrow lead for most of the first half, exploding on the offensive end late in the period and taking a 30-14 lead off a layup from Coppola with 3:15 remaining in the period. The Bantams responded with an 8-0 capped off by a three-pointer from Mick DiStasio (Yarmouth, ME). WPI went into halftime up 32-22, led by Matt Carr (Somersworth, NH) who scored nine points. The hosts shot 50 percent from the floor in the first stanza, but were forced into 11 turnovers.
Trinity opened the second half on an 8-2 tear, capped off by a layup from George Papadeas(Athens, Greece) with 15:28 left in the second period. Minutes later, Trinity cut the lead to 41-39 when Eric Dean (Gilford, NH) hit a 3-pointer. A put-back by Chris Applegate (High Point, NC) finally tied the game at 43-43 setting the stage for the back-and-forth ending.
Carr led the Engineers with 15 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Shannon filled up the stat line, with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists, a pair of blocks and two steals. In addition to his last-second heroics, Brown tallied 13 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists. Coppola racked up ten points, five rebounds and three steals.
Dean nearly led Trinity to the upset with 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Applegate was a presence inside with ten points and nine boards. Papadeas also pulled down nine rebounds to go along with eight points. Sutton added ten points. Trinity enjoyed a 43-30 edge on the boards.
It was the final non-conference game of the season for the Engineers. WPI resumes its NEWMAC conference schedule on Saturday, January 14th when they host Wheaton in a 1:00pm game. Trinity is back in action on Sunday as they host Hamilton.
Story written by Mike Rupp - WPI Athletics