BABSON PARK, Mass. – No. 3 seeded MIT saw freshman Bradley Jomard (Paris, France) pick up career highs in points (33) and rebounds (12) this afternoon to lead the Engineers to a 96-80 victory over No. 2 seed WPI in a semifinal game of the 2016 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball tournament. MIT took control of the game with a late first half surge and never looked back as it moved to the finals of the tournament for the sixth time in program history.

WPI (20-6) got off to a five-point lead at 10-5 four and a half minutes in on a pair of free throws by freshman James Loring (Norton, Mass.), but that was as far ahead as they would get in the half. MIT (20-6) hit on 7-of-11 three-point shots in the half and used its long-range shooting to keep the game close, getting the first one on a shot by senior Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.) that made it 10-8. The two sides stayed within four points of each other until the final five minutes when the Cardinal and Grey made a move.

With the game tied at 26-all, Jomard and Cameron Korb (Los Gatos, Calif.) hit back-to-back shots, with Korb's three-pointer putting MIT up 31-26. The Engineers went on to outscore WPI, 13-2, over the final five minutes, getting eight of those points from Jomard to take a 39-28 lead into the half.

MIT kept the pressure on to start the second half, starting the final 20 minutes with an 8-2 spurt that WPI never recovered from. Jomard hit a pair of free throws to start it and when freshman Adam Jurko (Weston, Fla.) hit on back-to-back layups, the Engineers had opened a 49-32 lead.

WPI turned to subbing out all five players at a time to attempt to get back into it, but the scheme did not work and when Pedley hit on a layup at the midway point of the half, MIT had moved out to a 20-point advantage at 63-43. MIT, which shot 65.6 percent in the half, held off WPI the rest of the way, seeing its lead shrink only to 13 points with 4:33 left on a three by sophomore Dave Zielinski (Shelton, Conn.). That was as close as WPI would get, however, as MIT went on to push its lead back to 19 on a three-point play from Jomard with 2:08 left.

Jomard hit on 12-of-22 from the floor and went 7-for-8 from the line for MIT. Pedley finished with 14 points, with senior Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y.) and Roberts finishing with 13 each for the Cardinal and Grey, with Korb chipping in 10. Junior Sean Doncaster (Medford, Mass.) led WPI with 14 points, with freshman Jamani Spencer (Closter, N.J.) and junior Ian Converse (Woodstock, Conn.) adding 12 points apiece. Converse also led the Engineers in rebounds with nine, with MIT holding a 45-35 edge on the boards.

MIT will move on to play for the NEWMAC title tomorrow, taking on No. 1 seed and host Babson at 12:00 p.m. in Staake Gymnasium.