Cambridge, MA --- In a game that saw both teams shoot less than 32 percent from the floor, WPI pulled away late to edge MIT 58-50 in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball game. Junior Sean Doncaster (Medford, MA) notched his second consecutive double-double for WPI with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Bradley Jomard (Paris, France) led all players with 21 points for MIT.
Both teams are receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 while Worcester's Engineers are sixth and Cambridge's Engineers are eighth in the initial NCAA Division III Regional Rankings, which were released earlier in the day.
WPI (17-5, 7-4 NEWMAC) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead after a basket by freshman Jamani Spencer (Closter, NJ), but MIT (16-5, 8-3 NEWMAC) came back to tie things up at 7-all on a three-pointer from freshman Cameron Korb (Los Gatos, CA). It remained close until the midway mark of the half when WPI, leading by two, scored eight straight to take a 22-12 lead on a trey by senior Aaron Davis (Marshfield, MA) at the 6:37 mark. Korb answered with another three for MIT and the home standing Engineers slowly crept closer, getting within a pair at the half when Jomard drained a long-range shot to make it 29-27.
MIT tied it with the first basket of the second half, a layup by freshman Tim Roberts (Oak Bluffs, MA), but WPI came back with a pair of free throws from senior Clyde Niba (Atlanta, GA) and a layup by freshman James Loring (Norton, MA) to take a four-point lead. The visiting Engineers' lead never grew to more than five points, however, as MIT stayed close.
With six minutes left MIT pushed ahead for first time in the game when Jomard converted a turnover into a layup on the other end to put his team up 44-43. The two sides then traded a pair of free throws, and with 4:40 left senior Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y.) hit MIT's pair to put the Engineers back in a one-point advantage. Those were the final points for MIT for over four minutes, as the Engineers missed on six straight field goal attempts. WPI took advantage, with Doncaster hitting back-to-back shots, including a trey, to put his team on top 49-46.
With MIT able to connect on just one of their final seven shots, WPI pushed its advantage to seven points in the final minute and held on for the victory. Loring was the only other player to reach double-figures for WPI, finishing with 10 points, while Niba led the team in rebounds with 13 to help his team to a 47-38 advantage on the boards. For MIT Frankel and Korb both added eight points, with Roberts pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.
MIT will step out of conference for its next game; hosting Framingham State on Friday at 7:00 p.m. WPI will host Coast Guard in a NEWMAC contest on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in its next action.
Release Courtesy MIT Sports Information