WORCESTER -- In its first home game of the 2022 season, the nationally-ranked WPI men's basketball team picked up its 10th victory of the season and remained perfect in conference action with a 67-49 win over MIT on Saturday afternoon.  

John Lowther (Hingham, MA) led the way for the homestanding No. 24 Engineers (10-1, 2-0 NEWMAC), tacking on seven rebounds, a pair of assists, two steals and three blocks on the outing while John Adams (Douglas, MA) added a monster 14-point, 13-rebound effort.  

MIT (7-5, 0-2) was led by a 12-point, eight rebound effort from Ian Hinkley (Raleigh, NC) while Dan Pilsbury (Millington, NJ) tacked on 10 points and seven rebounds. 

Lowther slammed down a dunk five seconds into the game, getting the Crimson and Gray on to the board first and they never relented en route to their fifth wire-to-wire win this season and fourth time in six outings. The two teams traded baskets over the course of the first eight minutes, and an Alex Cho (San Diego, CA) three tied things up at five-all with 13:05 left in the first, but WPI answered with a 7-0 run thanks to five-straight points from Lowther, to build up a 12-5 lead. MIT responded and got back within two, but another 12-0 run gave WPI a 33-19 edge thanks to six points from Lowther, and treys from McNamara and Kahleb Downing (Middletown, CT). The team headed into the locker room up 38-23 at the half.  

MIT hit the first three shots of the second half, but a Downing 3-pointer ended that run and launched a 10-0 run for the Worcester-based Engineers boosting WPI to a 48-29 advantage with 13 minutes left in the ball game.  

The teams traded shots for the remainder of the second half, but the damage was already done as WPI cruised to the victory, finishing things with a Will Barton (Meriden, CT) layup to seal the win.  

WPI is back in action on Wednesday, January 12 with another conference match up against Babson at Harrington Auditorium at  pm. Babson also returns to action on Wednesday at 7pm, with a home match against Coast Guard.