WORCESTER -- #1 Saint Joseph stood up to its top billing, as the Blue Jays downed #14 WPI, 67-55, in non-conference men's basketball action at Harrington Auditorium on Friday afternoon. USJ improves to 10-0 on the season, while the Engineers fall to 8-2. 

Setting up for a defensive battle, the game featured the two teams in all of NCAA Division III in opponent points per game — WPI led at 53.3 ppg allowed, while USJ was second, averaging 55.7 ppg to opponents. 

USJ's Ryan O'Neill (Litchfield, CT) led all scorers with 21 points, adding six rebounds. Jaecee Martin (Hartford, CT) finished with 14 points, while Tyree Mitchell (East Hartford, CT) had 13, on 5-of-5 shooting. Alec Kinder (West Haven, CT) led the Blue Jays with eight rebounds. 

John Lowther (Hingham, MA) led the Engineers with 17 points, adding a game-best 13 rebounds to round out his second double-double of the season. Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) and Andrew Lufkin (Auburn, NH) each added 12 points, while John Adams (Douglas, MA) pulled down 10 rebounds in the loss. 

WPI is now 0-4 all-time against teams ranked #1 in the d3hoops.com national poll. 

Lowther and Mitchell each dropped 13 first-half points for their respective squads, as the teams played the first 20 minutes to a 31-31 tie. After tight opening action, WPI used a 7-2 run to take a 16-11 lead with 10:04 to play in the frame, the largest advantage for either team to that point. 

The Blue Jays cut the lead to 21-19 on a three from O'Neill at the 5:40 mark and continued the run with a three from Mitchell and a pair of free throws to put the hosts up 29-25 with 2:54 left in the half. The Engineers answered with another surge, as a three from Donovan Sevilla (San Ramon, CA) put WPI up 31-29, but a buzzer-beating lay-up from Mitchell tied the game at 31-31 at the break. 

Defense shined in the first half, with neither team shooting better than 35% from the field. 

The Engineers struck first in the second half, with a three from Luther starting the scoring. From there, Saint Joseph got hot from beyond the arc, putting together a 19-3 run that put the visitors up 50-37 with 12:25 on the clock. Sullivan, O'Neill, and Delshawn Jackson Jr. (Hartford, CT) all connected for threes, matching the total number of team threes for USJ in the entire first half. 

Callahan broke the WPI scoreless drought with a three at 12:07 to cut the lead to 10 (50-40), but the Blue Jays surged once more. A 7-3 run, with all seven points coming from O'Neill, put USJ up 61-48 with 3:34 to play. 

The Saint Joseph advantage increased to as many as 15 points down the stretch, as the top-ranked team in D3 finished out the 67-55 victory. 

USJ shot 50% (16-32) from the field in the second half, holding WPI to 9-for-28 (32.1%) from the field. For the game, the Blue Jays out-shot WPI, 42.6% to 29.7%, while rebounds (42-42) and turnovers (USJ 10-9) were nearly even. 

WPI is off until Wednesday, January 4 when the Engineers open NEWMAC play at home against Springfield at 6pm. Saint Joseph will play its GNAC opener at home against Johnson & Wales on Tuesday, January 3 at 7pm.