Medford, MA --- Senior Sam Longwell (Acton, MA) scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half as the No. 13 WPI men's basketball team held off host Tufts for a 68-65 non-league victory Wednesday night at Cousens Gym.

Sophomore Hunter Sabety (Oceanside, NY) recorded game-highs of 21 points and 18 rebounds for Tufts, who narrowed a 13-point deficit with less than six minutes remaining down to one but could not overtake the Engineers.

WPI, which also received five three-pointers and 18 points from junior Zach Karalis (North Andover, MA), improved to 5-1 with its second win in a row. The Jumbos (2-4) lost their second straight close encounter to a national top 20 team including a 71-64 overtime loss at No. 16 MIT on November 25.

The Jumbos led at the half tonight 27-24 behind 11 points from sophomore tri-captain Tom Palleschi (Haverhill, MA). However, an early second-half three by Karalis followed by a three-point play from Longwell put the Engineers up 30-29. The visitors would not lose that advantage.

WPI held a single-digit margin as the clock wound down under 10 minutes. Tufts was within 52-49 following a lay-up by junior tri-captain Stephen Haladyna (South Hamilton, MA) with 8:45 on the clock. WPI went on a 10-0 run from there though, led by seven points from seniorDomenick Mastascusa (North Reading, MA), and led 62-49 with 5:43 remaining.

Tufts answered quickly with their own 10-0 run to pull within 62-59 on sophomore point guardTarik Smith's (Bronx, NY) lay-up at the 3:31 mark. Mastascusa, who had 11 of his 13 points in the second half, scored again to put WPI ahead 64-59. Sabety responded with a lay-up at the other end making it 64-61 Engineers heading into the final two minutes.

A pair of free throws by Palleschi had Tufts within one (64-63) with 1:26 to go. Longwell returned the favor at the other end with a pair of freebies for a 66-63 WPI lead going into the final minute.

Tufts rebounded its own miss, but was called for an offensive foul. Longwell made just one of two free throws for a 67-63 Engineer advantage. Sabety's lay-up with 24 seconds left pulled Tufts within two at 67-65. The Jumbos fouled, but Karalis made just one of two giving Tufts a last possession down three with 22 seconds remaining. The Jumbos missed two strongly-contested lay-ups before WPI junior Aaron Davis (Marshfield, MA) came away with the rebound and the final buzzer sounded.

WPI had threatened to pull away in the first half, building an 18-9 lead off six points from freshman Aaron Todd (York, ME) and three-pointers by Davis and Karalis. The Jumbos had an answer, scoring the next 11 points to take a 20-18 advantage at 3:59 on Palleschi's jumper. He had seven points during the spurt.

Tufts would end up out-scoring WPI 16-4 in the paint and take a 24-15 advantage in rebounds over the first 20 minutes. In addition to Palleschi's 11, Saberty had eight points, nine rebounds and two steals in the first half. Karalis led seven WPI scorers at the break with six points.

For the game, Longwell added seven rebounds and five assists to his team-high 19 points. Mastascusa had six rebounds and three steals while Karalis made good on five of eight three-point attempts. WPI out-scored Tufts 20-9 at the free throw line, shooting 76.9 percent (20/26).

Palleschi had 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks for the Jumbos. Smith recorded a game-high six assists for the Jumbos, while junior Ryan Spadaford (Rockville Centre, NY) finished with eight points and three rebounds off the bench. Tufts earned a +11 rebound margin (42-31), but was just 2 for 16 (.125) on three-pointers.

WPI next travels to Fitchburg State for a 1 pm Saturday contest. The Jumbos play in the annual New England Big 4 Challenge on Saturday and Sunday.

Release Courtesy Tufts Sports Information