WORCESTER --- Freshman Jake Ross (Northampton, MA) and junior Andy McNulty (West Springfield, MA) combined for 54 of Springfield's 71 points as the Pride scored the last 10 points of the game to defeat host WPI, 71-63, in the NEWMAC men's basketball opener for both teams on Wednesday evening in Harrington Auditorium.
The win was the fourth in a row for Springfield, which improved to 7-5 overall. WPI, which receiving votes in the most recent D3Hoops Top 25, saw its four-game winning streak snapped and slips to 9-3 on the season.
McNulty achieved a new career high with 25 as Ross tied his best output with 29.
The Engineers, which trailed by as many as 19 early in the second half, took a 55-54 lead with 6:10 remaining. The next four minutes was frantic, featuring four lead changes and a pair of times, including at 63 apiece on a pair of Ross free throws with 1:58 to go. On the ensuing possession WPI was whistled for an illegal screen and the Pride capitalized on a Ross jumper to go ahead for good at 65-63 with 1:36. From that point forward, the SC defense stiffened, forcing the Crimson and Gray to misfire on its last four shots from the floor while McNulty, Ross and rookie Heath Post (Cheshire, CT) all canned two free throws for the guests in the final 18 seconds to secure the victory.
WPI began its comeback with a triple by senior Sean Doncaster (Medford, MA). The hosts canned five 3-pointers and featured eight points from senior Ian Converse (Woodstock, CT), seven points from Doncaster and six points each by freshman Jake Wisniewski (West Brookfield, MA) and junior Dave Zielinski (Shelton, CT), Converse tied it 53-53 with a trifecta at 7:37.
After a pair of ties and lead changes, Springfield embarked on a 14-3 run to claim the 27-16 advantage with 5:18 remaining in the firsrt half. The spurt began with back-to-back threes by McNulty and Post with the latter beating the shot clock. The lead increased to as much as 14 thanks to another McNulty trifecta with 3:10 on the scoreboard.
McNulty and Ross combined for 25 in the first half for the Pride, who shot 46.7 percent from the field as a team. Doncaster and Converse, meanwhile, were limited to five points apiece. Four different Engineers connected from downtown to help the team shoot 66.7 percent.
Doncaster ended with 16 points and was followed by Converse with 15. Zielinski added 11 of the 25 bench points and Wisniewski collected eight rebounds.
In addition to his 25 points, Ross also stuffed the stat sheet with seven rebounds, five steals, four assists and a block. Sophomore Stanley Davis (Boston, MA) came off the bench to hand out four assists in the effort.
The Engineers hit the road Saturday for a 3pm contest at MIT while Springfield hosts nationally-ranked Babson at 2pm.