WORCESTER -- J.R. Newman (Havertown, MA) erupted for a career-high 17 points as WPI men's basketball jumped out to a big first half lead on its way to a 73-60 triumph over visiting Coast Guard as both teams returned to NEWMAC play on Wednesday evening inside Harrington Auditorium. 
 
WPI, which is ranked 22nd in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, improves to 10-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.  Coast Guard slips to 5-6 overall and 1-1 in NEWMAC action.
 
The hosts broke open a tight game with a ten-minute span midway through the first half, notching 23 of the 33 points after a 3-pointer by Coast Guard's Declan Rooney (Seattle, WA)  to expand a 10-9 lead into a 33-19 advantage.  Brett Marelli (Hampton, MA) spearheaded the surge with seven points while Newman added six and Callahan five as the Engineers were 9-of-15 from the field during the run.   As a team, WPI shot 53.1% on field goal tries, including 8-of-17 from downtown, over the opening 20 minutes, en route to taking a 47-28 edge into the locker room at the half.
 
The second looked like it was going to be more of the same, as WPI saw its lead ballooned to as many as 28 points at 61-33 as Tim Reidy (Needham, MA) and Newman combined for 11 points and the Engineers outscored the Bears 14-5 over the opening five minutes of the second half however the Bears responded by rattling off 15 straight points with 12:20 remaining,  Luke Farrell (Ortley Beach, NY) lead the uprising with seven of the 15 points to get the guests to within 13 at 61-48.  Turnovers were a key factor in the second half as Coast Guard parlayed nine WPI second half turnovers in 16 points while only committing two second half miscues themselves.   The Bears only cut the deficit to single digits once, at 69-60 with 1:56 to go, but a 13-of-16 (81.3%) performance from the free throw line in final 20 minutes helped the hosts keep Coast Guard at bay.
 
Newman, who had scored 16 points on two different occasions last season as a sophomore, canned five 3-pointers, on his way to establishing a new career-best 17 points.  Aidan Callahan (Rowley, ME) contributed 12 of his 16 points before half and doled out a game-high six assists.   Reidy reached double figures in scoring as well, netting 12 points, buoyed by a trio of 3-pointers and Marelli was a point short of his second double-double of the season with nine points and 11 boards, one shy of a new career-best.
 
Farrall joined Newman with 17 points on the night and added six rebounds, all on the defensive end.  Rooney totaled 12 points and three steals for Coast Guard while Cameron Brown (Ellicott City, MD) gobbled up a team-high nine caroms to go along six points and three steals.
 
The hosts connected on 11 3-pointers on the night while Coast Guard was just 4-for-25 (16.0%) from downtown however the Bears enjoyed a healthy 32-16 bulge in points in the paint.
 
Both teams continue NEWMAC play on Saturday at 1pm. WPI travels to Emerson while Coast Guard entertains Clark.