WORCESTER -- A John Lowther (Hingham, MA) steal that led to a Donovan Sevilla (San Ramon, CA) bucket with 2.1 seconds remaining gave the #12 WPI men's basketball team a thrilling 55-54 come-from-behind win over visiting Babson on Saturday afternoon in Harrington Auditorium. The Engineers improve to 17-3 overall, 9-1 in NEWMAC play, while the Beavers dip to 13-8, 6-4. 

A back-and-forth game had Babson leading by five with under two minutes to play before WPI rallied to make it a one-point game with 1:16 left. Still, the Beavers had the edge late, going up three with 38 seconds remaining. The Engineers' final rally started on an Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) basket with 26.4 seconds on the clock, before Lowther stole the ball with 15 seconds left and Sevilla's lay-up gave WPI the lead with 2.1 seconds remaining. After a combined five timeouts, the visitors were able move the ball past midcourt in 0.7 seconds and Parker Mason (Portsmouth, RI) threw a nice inbounds pass with 1.4 seconds left for a final attempt at a game-winning tip-in, but it was well-defended by the Engineers, who wrapped up the victory. 

WPI worked around a less-than-stellar shooting performance, finishing just 21-of-61 from the field (34.4%) and 3-of-14 from three (21.4%), but forced 13 Babson turnovers and had a 42-37 rebounding edge. The Beavers shot 37% (20-54) from the field and 32% (8-25) from long range. 

Lowther led all players with 22 points, adding nine rebounds, while Callahan recorded his first career double-double, posting 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) notched eight points, while Andrew Lufkin (Auburn, NH) chipped in with seven points and John Adams (Douglas, MA) had eight rebounds. 

For Babson, Ryan Cibull (Alameda, CA) had 19 points, including connecting for 5-of-7 from long range. Andrew Kirkpatrick (Winnetka, IL) and Mark Woolhouse (Lebanon, NJ) notched 10 points each, with Aaron Gao (Bridgewater, NJ) adding seven points, seven rebounds, and five assists.  

WPI's early 6-3 lead in the game was countered with an 11-2 run from Babson, as a Woolhouse three at 13:51 put the Beavers up 14-8. After WPI cut the lead to four on a Lowther jumper, Babson extended its lead to seven points on a Cibull three. The Beavers held on to at least a five-point advantage until a WPI rally with under five left in the frame. A Lufkin three tied the game at 27-27 with 3:51 to play, while a Lowther three with 1:47 on the clock put WPI up 32-29. Babson got the final bucket of the half though, making it just a one-point Engineers' advantage (32-31) at halftime. 

Lowther had half of the Engineers' first-half points, putting up 16 in the frame. 

A Cibull three put Babson up 34-32 early in the second half and accounted for the only points in the first six minutes. From there, the lead changed hands twice, until a Lufkin jumper put WPI up three with 10 minutes left in the game.

WPI kept its advantage with a Newman bucket with 8:50 to play putting the hosts up three, but six unanswered points from Kirkpatrick had the Beavers ahead 44-41 with 6:44 on the clock. The Engineers tied the game twice in the next three minutes, but both times Babson answered, as the visitors built a five-point (52-47) advantage with under two minutes remaining in the game. 

WPI erased most of the deficit over the next minute, with a three-point play from Callahan making it a 52-51 game with 1:16 left. A pair of Gao free throws with 38 ticks on the clock had Babson up by three, but Callahan made it a one-point game with a lay-up just 12 seconds later. It was Babson's ball up by two with 26 seconds remaining before Lowther's steal and Sevilla's lay-up put WPI on top for good. 

Both squads continue NEWMAC play at home on Wednesday at 7pm with WPI hosting MIT and Babson entertaining Springfield.