WORCESTER -- The WPI men's basketball team remained undefeated in 2023 with a 83-75, hard-fought victory at Clark on Wednesday night to improve to 5-0 in conference action.
Led by a 25-point effort from Donovan Sevilla (San Ramon, CA), as well as a pair of double-double from the Johns, the Engineers erased a 72-68 deficit with 4:06 remaining in the game and went on a 13-1 run, holding Clark without a basket over a four-minute stretch en route to the victory.
John Lowther (Hingham, MA) finished with a 14-point, 10 rebound outing while John Adams (Douglas, MA) added 12-points and 10 rebounds. Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) added another 17 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Clark was paced by a pair of 15-point efforts from Mikey O'Brien (New York, NY) and Ian Calabrese (Simsbury, CT) while Reid Neumann (Burbank, CA) added 14 points and eight rebounds, and Kekoa McArdle (Pittsfield, MA) and Isaiah Taylor (Methuen, MA) chipped in 11 points apiece.
Clark led by two points at the half after a well-balanced first 20 minutes of action. After an O'Brien jumper, Clark held a 16-8 advantage, seven minutes into the game before a 9-0 run capped by a Sevilla jumper gave WPI a 17-16 lead.
The two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the first half as a string of three Neumann free throws made it 39-35 before Callahan nailed a layup at the buzzer to make it a two-point halftime game.
In the second half, WPI used a quick 9-0 run, highlighted by a trey from Sevilla to gain a 46-41 lead, prompting a Clark timeout. The Engineers held on to their lead, building up a 10-point advantage, 59-49 behind a trio of Lowther free throws, before Clark turned on the jets midway through the second half.
A pair of free throws from O'Brien, and back-to-back 3-pointers from Neumann and Calabrese brought the Cougs within one with 8:45 remaining. Just a couple of minutes later, Taylor regained the lead for Clark with another trey, prompting a 10-1 run to control the game 70-66 with 4:47 to go.
But WPI was undeterred and finished the game out with a run of its own, utilizing one of the nation's top defenses to stimy Clark en route to the victory.
Clark's 75 points marked the most given up in conference play and the most yielded by WPI since an 86-77 loss to Hamilton back on December 3.
Both teams were hot handed, with Clark shooting 46.3 percent from the field on the night, though WPI bested the Cougs with an impressive 50.8 field goal percentage (30-59). Clark was on fire from deep, draining 14 treys on the night and was 11-12 from the free throw line.
The Engineers outrebounded Clark 37-28 and finished with 11 second-chance points and an otherworldly 46 points in the paint to Clark's 22.
WPI is back in action at home on Saturday, Sept. 21 when they play host to Wheaton at 3 pm, looking to continue their conference win-streak while Clark looks to bounce back against Springfield at home on Saturday at 4pm.