BOSTON – Obi Obiora (Boston, MA) recorded his second double-double of the season, and his career, as nationally-ranked WPI went on the road and defeated Emerson, 70-62, Saturday in a NEWMAC men's basketball contest.
With the win, the Engineers, ranked 12th in the last two D3hoops.com Top 25 polls, improve to 13-2 overall and 3-1 in league action as the Lions dip to 5-10 on the year and 0-4 in the loop.
Obiora scored 11 points and collected 10 of the Engineers 37 rebounds while Clyde Niba (Atlanta, GA) tallied all his 11 points in the second half in addition to seven rebounds and two steals. Sean Doncaster (Medford, MA) was also in double digits with 10 points to go with four rebounds and five assists. Aaron Todd (York, ME) tossed in nine points as Ian Converse (Woodstock, CT) totaled seven and James Loring (Norton, MA) notched a career-high six. Converse also hauled in six caroms.
Emerson's Austin Pickney (Miami, FL) led all players with 19 points followed by Geoffrey Gray (Newton, MA) with 10, Tyson Hallowell (Lincoln, MA) with eight and John Geary (Duxbury, MA) with seven. Michael Thorpe (Newton, MA) came off the bench to pace the Lions with eight rebounds to go with seven boards and seven assists from Gray.
WPI, who never trailed in the game, jumped out to a 10-4 advantage nearly five minutes in. Hallowell single-handedly cut the hosts deficit to one (10-9) with a 3-pointer at 14:10 and a layup with 13:36 remaining in the frame. Shane Farley (Burlington, MA) then ignited a 13-2 run with a triple. The outburst, which gave the Crimson and Gray the 23-11 lead midway through the first half, also saw Converse and Todd score five apiece. Gray drained a 3-pointer and hit a jumper for a personal 5-0 run for the Lions. The rest of the stanza essentially became a 3-point shooting contest with Doncaster's late triple sending the Engineers to the locker room with a 38-29 lead.
The Boynton Hillers came out of the break and scored the first six points to take the 15 point lead (44-29). Emerson answered with a 12-0 rally, featuring five from Gray, which was capped off by a Michael Sheng (Altadenta, CA) 3-pointer with 13:24 to play to make it a 44-41 ballgame. Later in the frame, Brian Hurley (South Boston, MA) scored consecutive baskets to once again bring the Lions within three with 7:24 remaining. Emerson was able to whittle away at a 10-point deficit with under a minute to go and pulled within five before Chris Rodgers (Franklin, MA) made three of the game's final four free throws for the 70-62 final.
The Engineers shot 41 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.2 percent at the free throw line. The Lions were 37.9 overall and 42.1 from downtown and only made 44.4 percent of their freebies.
Both teams continue conference play on Wednesday as WPI entertains Clark at 7pm and Emerson hosts Wheaton at 5:30.