New London, CT --- John Lowther (Hingham, MA) keyed a decisive 9-1 late spurt with four points and an assist to lead No. 20 WPI to a 69-62 road victory over upset-minded Coast Guard in a NEWMAC men's basketball contest played on Saturday afternoon.
The Engineers, winners of three straight, ups their record to 19-3 overall and 11-1 in conference play. Coast Guard is now 4-19 on the season and 2-10 in NEWMAC action.
In a second half that featured nine lead changes, a jumper by Declan Rooney (Seattle, WA) gave the hosts Bears their advantage of the game at 57-56 with just 4:31 remaining in regulation. Lowther began the 9-1 spurt with a jumper and pair of free throws on back-to-back possessions. After a John Adams (Douglas, MA) layup and a Coast Guard free throw, the Crimson and Gray provided the hammer when J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) knocked down a 3-pointer off a feed from Lowther to go ahead 65-58 with just 1:17 to go. During the run, the WPI defense held Coast Guard without a made basket on all five of its attempts, all 3-pointers.
The first half featured a back-and-forth matchup between the Engineers and the Bears, as the score was tied 30-30 at the break. After a quick 4-0 start to the game for Coast Guard, WPI rattled off a 14-1 run to take a 14-5 lead with 14:27 left in the half. The Bears would claw their way back into the game, using a 13-3 run of their own to propel themselves to a 30-26 advantage with just under 3 minutes to play in the period. The Engineers would add 2 layups to tie the match before the intermission. Sevilla led the Engineers with 12 first half points, while Rooney tallied 13 for the Bears.
Adams paced four WPI players in double-figure scoring with 18 points. Point guard Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) added 17 points and three assists, Donovan Sevilla (San Ramon, CA) registered 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and Lowther was a rebound short of a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Rooney led the way for Coast Guard with 23 points, include three 3-point baskets. The bench provided the Bears with a spark totaling 23 points, Ben Yagey (Highlands Ranch, CO) notched nine, Cameron Brown (Ellicott, MD) netted seven, and Bryce VanderWiere (Schoolcraft, MI) added six. Mitch Shettles (New Albany, MS) and Luke Farrell (Ortley, NJ) each grabbed six boards for the Bears.
The game was very even statistically, with each team grabbing 38 rebounds and combining to commit just 18 turnovers. The Engineers shot 43.6% from the floor and 31.3% on 3-pointers, while the hosts shot 38.6% on field goal attempts and just 17.4% from downtown.
WPI closes out a brief two-game road swing on Wednesday, venturing to Wheaton for a 7pm tipoff. Coast Guard is also on the road Wednesday, traveling to Babson for a 5:30pm contest with the Beavers.