Tampa, FL --- Senior Calvin Songster (Johnson City, TN) scored eight of his 13 points - all in the second half - as part of a 17-8 run by Maryville (TN) to knock the WPI men's basketball team from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday night at the Tampa Bay Shootout, hosted by DePauw (IN) at Tampa Preparatory School. Engineer junior Jake Wisniewski (West Brookfield, MA) collected his third double-double of the season, and fourth of his career, with game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Scots (5-4) will take on Otterbein (OH) in the 3pm championship game while the Crimson and Gray (9-1) faces the hosts at 1pm in the consolation.
Trailing by three with nearly five minutes to play, Maryville tied it up with a free throw from junior Joshua Brooks (Atlanta, GA) and a layup by senior Dante Hoppa (Naples, FL). From there, Songster canned a pair of freebies and added a layup for the four-point lead with 3:04 on the clock. The Engineers were able to cut the deficit to three on multiple occasions down the stretch; however, Songster put the game out of reach with four free throws in the last five seconds.
Wisnewski bookended a 7-0 run in the opening two-plus minutes. Maryville then tied the game at 12-12 before the Engineers claimed several five point leads prior to the intermission.
WPI enjoyed a nine point advantage, its largest of the game, with 13:52 to go. The Scots later took their first lead of the contest following a triple by Songster with 10:52 remaining. Maryville claimed the lead for good on the front end of a pair of free throws by Songster with 3:04 on the scoreboard.
Sophomore Reid Walker (Lithia, FL) narrowly missed a double-double with 15 points and nine boards while classmate Kahleb Downing (Middletown, CT) added 13 points, six caroms and four assists. Sophomore Colin McNamara (Arlington, MA) chipped in with seven rebounds and four assists and classmate Jake Needleman (Morganville, NJ) notched three steals.
Hoppa led the Scots with 16 points and six rebounds. Brooks finished with 15 points to go with 11 from senior Emier Bowman (Dalton, GA). Classmate Kaleb Estes (Covington, TN) led the reserves with five points and six boards.
WPI outrebounded Maryville 40-29 and scored 15 of 22 second chance points. The Scots committed five fewer turnovers (18-13) and scored four more in the paint (28-24).