Cambridge, MA --- John Adams (Douglas, MA) became the 29th player in WPI men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone as he was one of four Engineers to reach double figures in scoring in the Crimson and Gray's 81-60 road victory over MIT on Saturday afternoon in Rockwell Cage.
WPI, which appears in the initial NCAA Division III Region II rankings and is receiving votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25, is now 19-4 overall and 12-2 in conference play. The Crimson and Gray now lead Clark, who was idle Saturday, by a game atop the league standings with just a week remaining in the regular season. Cambridge's Engineers, who had won two straight and four of their last five, slip to 6-18 on the season and 5-10 in NEWMAC action.
The two squads played a tight first half, with neither team leading by more than five, as WPI took a 28-27 lead into the locker room. The Crimson and Gray had a cold start, shooting 2-of-7 from the field at the open. Tim Reidy (Needham, MA) drained a three-pointer with 16:09 left to put Worcester's Engineers in front, the last shot either team would make for the next four minutes, as staunch defense saw the teams go a combined 0-of-9. Adams made a layup with 12 minutes left to break the drought, and the two teams traded blows for the remainder of the half.
In the second, WPI went on an 11-2 run over two minutes, with Justin Molen (Newark, DE) scoring nine straight for the Crimson and Gray. A layup by Reidy gave WPI their largest lead of the game so far at 11 points with 13 minutes left. An offensive rebound by Adams with seven and a half minutes gave him his tenth board, completing the double-double for the senior. WPI maintained its cushion for the remainder of the game for an 81-60 triumph over Cambridge's Engineers.
Reidy and Molen led the Crimson and Gray in scoring with 16 apiece, career-highs for both players. Reidy shot 4-of-7 from behind the arc, good for a 57.1% clip. Molen went 3-of-4 from deep, to go with five rebounds and two steals. Donovan Sevilla (San Ramon, CA) went 5-of-11 from the floor to total 13 points.
Adams finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, along with four assists, a steal and a block. It marked the fifth consecutive game that Adams recorded a double-double and the eighth in his last nine games. The senior has 13 this season and 36 in his career. The last WPI player to reach the 1,000 milestone was John Lowther in last season's regular season finale and before that it was Colin McNamara, who did it in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament which culminated in a WPI run to the national quarterfinals.
WPI's bench contributed 28 points on the night behind the big performance by Reidy while 10 steals led to 26 points off turnovers for Worcester's Engineers.
Merlin Gogolin (New York, NY) scored a game-high 18 points for MIT, on 8-of-12 shooting, to go with six boards. Will Bland (Virgina Beach, VA) was the other Beaver player in double-digits with 11 points along with two rebounds, two assists and a swipe. Mike Ewing (Mendham, NJ) scored nine points on an efficient 3-of-5 shooting, as the first year added three boards, an assist and a steal.
Both teams will be spending Valentine's Day in Worcester with 7pm contests. WPI will return home to tangle with Springfield in Harrington Auditorium while MIT ventures further down Park Ave to face Clark.