WORCESTER -- WPI men's basketball seized control of the game by holding visiting Babson without a made field goal for nearly 10 minutes midway through the first half en route to holding the Beavers to 30 points below their season average in a 61-49 NEWMAC victory on Saturday afternoon in Harrington Auditorium.
The Crimson and Gray, ranked 17th in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25, improves to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Babson falls to 5-4 on the season and 1-1 in NEWMAC action.
Babson led 10-8 in the early going but the WPI defense held the Beavers without a basket from the 14:22 mark to 4:40 left in the first half and the Engineers, spearheaded by back-to-back trifectas by reserves Nathan Bledsoe (San Antonio, TX) and Tim Reidy (Needham. MA), rattled off 14 of the game's next 16 points during the stretch to take a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) and Reidy paced WPI in the first half with six points apiece while John Adams (Douglas, MA) grabbed five rebounds. Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, NY) also had six points for the guests.
Donovan Sevilla (San Ramon, CA) was the story after intermission for the Crimson and Gray. The senior guard, who was limited to six minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, drained 5-of-7 shots from the field in the second half on his way to a team-best 15 points. The Beavers would claw back to within four points at 33-29 with 13:27 to go but WPI responded with six straight points, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Justin Molen (Newark, DE) to put the hosts up again by double-figures. The closest Babson would get after that was six points.
Sevilla was joined in double figure scoring by co-captains Adams and Callahan. Adams totaled 14 points and 12 rebounds on his way to his fourth double-double of the season and 27th of his career. Callahan chipped in with 10 points, a game-best five assists and four boards. Bledsoe, Reidy and J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) all tossed in six points for the Engineers while Newman add five rebounds.
Steph Baxter (Worcester, MA) paced Babson with a game-high 16 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. Horan used a 3-for-4 performance from the downtown to finish with 11 points and Timmy O'Toole (Milton, MA) contributed 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks before fouling out.
The WPI defense limited the Beavers to 34% shooting from the floor, including just 23.8% (5-for-21) in the first half . Meanwhile the Engineers were strong from deep, connecting on 6-of-12 3-pointers and saw its reserves outscore the Babson bench 16-7 on the day.
WPI now enjoys some extended time off for B Term finals and the Christmas holiday. The Crimson and Gray is back on the court in late December in the Stevens Men's Basketball Holiday Tournament in Hoboken, NJ. The Engineers square off with Gettysburg (PA) on Friday, December 29th at 5pm with Amherst and the host Ducks meeting in the other semifinal tilt at 1pm. The championship and consolation games are slated for Saturday, December 30th at 1pm and 5pm respectively. Babson returns to action next the same two days, traveling to face UW-Stout on the 29th and UW-Oshkosh on the 30th, with both contests at 6pm.