WORCESTER – Senior Clyde Niba (Atlanta, GA) notched his second double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead WPI past visiting Wheaton, 70-55, in NEWMAC men's basketball action at Harrington Auditorium.
The Engineers, who moved up to fifth in the NCAA Division III New England regional rankings earlier in the day, improve to 19-5 on the season and 9-4 in NEWMAC play. The Lyons slip to 9-14 and 3-10 in the conference.
Niba began the game with a personal 5-0 run with a jumper and a triple less than two minutes in. The Engineers went on to take a 20-9 advantage with 12:35 left in the opening half. Wheaton then began to slowly chip away at the deficit and eventually pulled within four, following a layup by junior Quinton Dale (Winthrop, MA), nearly 16 minutes in. After trading a series of buckets, WPI doubled the margin to eight thanks to layups by juniors Ian Converse (Woodstock, CT) and Sean Doncaster (Medford, MA). Two freebies by freshman Duaka Ekwensi (Morris Plains, NJ) sent the Lyons to the locker room trailing 36-30.
The Engineers embarked on a 6-0 spurt after the break for the 12-point advantage (42-30) with 16:23 to play. Dale scored twice in a Wheaton 6-0 outburst that concluded with 13:11 displayed on the scoreboard. WPI slowly increased its margin and opened up a game-best 22-point lead (67-45) following a 3-pointer by freshman Jamani Spencer (Closter, NJ) with 5:29 to play. The final two minutes saw Wheaton get as close as 13 with a jumper by senior Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, CT), a triple by sophomore Timothy Berry (Sterling, MA) and a pair of free throws by freshman Nick Geremia (North Providence, RI). WPI freshman Jahshanti Allen (New York, NY) had the final say with a jumper with 43 seconds to go.
Converse (eight rebounds) and Spencer (four steals) each contributed a dozen points apiece while Doncaster added nine. Senior Aaron Davis (Marshfield, MA) doled out a game-best six assists.
Four of the five Wheaton starters achieved double digit scoring. Dale delivered a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds while Battaglia paced the team with 14 points. Ekwensi and Berry each chipped in with 10. Dale also stuffed the stat sheet with four assists, two blocks and a steal.
WPI held advantages in the paint (28-24), second chance (11-8) and bench points (18-8) while scoring all 12 fast break points. Wheaton doubled up the hosts in points off turnovers.
Both teams close out NEWMAC regular season play on Saturday at 1pm. The Engineers venture down Park Ave. to face Clark while the Lyons entertain Emerson.
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