WORCESTER -- Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) totaled a career-high 29 points and Nicholas Margetson (Baldwin, NY) chipped in 18 points as WPI earned a spot in the championship game of the eighth annual Ted Coghlin Tournament by defeating visiting Saint Joseph's (ME) 80-73 in a rematch of the 2023 title tilt on Friday night inside Harrington Auditorium.
With the win, the Engineers lift their season record to 2-0 while the Monks fall to 1-2 overall. WPI, the defending champions which has won five of the previous seven tournament crowns and is 13-2 all-time in the Coghlin Tournament, will face the winner's of Friday's second semifinal between Amherst and Western Connecticut in tomorrow's final at 5pm. St. Joseph's will play at 3pm in Saturday's consolation contest.
The Engineers saw a 5-0 run to begin the game, starting with a Brett Marelli (Hampton, NH) layup and a trey by Margetson. The Monks didn't let the points go unanswered, knocking down a layup and canning a pair of free throws.
WPI then embarked up a 9-0 spurt with 18:20 left, including two treys and a steal by Tim Reidy (Needham, MA). Saint Joseph's don't let the Engineers pull ahead, knocking down two shots from behind the arc in an 8-0 run, led by John Paul Frazier (York, ME) with six of those points.
With 11:45 left in the first half, the Monks take their first lead of the game, 24-23, when Julian Llopiz (Boston, MA) received a pass from down the court and knocked down a 3-pointer.
The rest of the half was continuous back and forth action, with 11 lead changes, ending 42-40 in favor of Saint Joseph's. Margetson and Reidy shined for the Crimson and Grey, notching 12 and 11 points respectively, with Margetson adding on four rebounds and Reidy contributing two steals. For the Monks, Frazier tallied 12 points and two boards, with Llopiz adding eight points and a pair of assists over the opening 20 minutes.
To start the second half, both teams were fired up and ready to compete for the chance to battle in the championship of the Ted Coghlin Tournament. Callahan went 3-for-3 from the floor to begin the stanza, and Margetson added a steal and layup for the Engineers. Wani Donato (Portland, ME) knocked down a trey and a driving layup for Saint Joe's.
The Boynton Hillers used a 9-0 run starting at 14:49 before being broken up by a Remijo Wani (Portland, ME) 3-pointer. The run was fueled by Callahan, draining a floating jump shot and layup, and added on two free throws and a steal, bringing the score to 58-57 after the aforementioned Wani trey.
WPI ran off six straight points, highlighted by a Callahan steal and driving layup, putting the hosts to 64-57.
Starting at 7:17, every basket the Engineers made was answered by the Monks, including a trey for trey, two made free throws for the same, two layups for two layups, bringing the total to 73-68 with just over four minutes left in the game but WPI ultimately took home the win, 80-73.
For the game, Callahan took charge for WPI and netted a career-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor, while also adding four boards and five assists. Margetson cliched a career-high of 18 points and gobbled up nine rebounds, while Reidy chipped in with 14 points and three steals, and Justin Molen (Newark, DE) contributed 11 points and six boards. For Saint Joseph's, Frazier knocked in 3-of-4 shots from behind the arc, ending the game with 19 points and three rebounds. Wani and Donato each contributed 13 points, tallying six and five boards, respectively.
The Engineers pulled to lead with 12:40 left in the second quarter, and never trailed after this point. Prior to this moment, there were 12 lead changes on the game. WPI made 30-of-56 (53.6%) of field goals on the night, while limiting the guests to 26-of-60 (43.3%).
Recap Written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Maya Vartabedian '24 '25