WPI 65, Babson 49
Box Score
Worcester, MA --- Seniors Jim Marois
(Worcester, MA), Antoine Coleman (Everett, MA) and
Ryan Bourque (Nashua, NH) combined for 37 points
as host WPI defeated Babson 65-49 on Saturday afternoon in the
NEWMAC men's basketball season finale for both squads.
The Engineers, winners of eight straight and fourth in the
latest NCAA Division III regional rankings, improve to 20-5 overall
and 11-1 in conference action. It marks the fifth consecutive
year the Crimson and Gray have won at least 20 contests.
Babson drops to 9-15 on the season and 6-6 in the NEWMAC.
WPI never trailed in the game but it was not easy. Coleman
was a man possessed in the opening minutes, scoring the first seven
WPI points but he was saddled with foul trouble for most of the
first stanza. The Engineers saw a 29-21 lead shrink to a
three-point advantage at break as the Beavers scored eight of the
final 10 points over the last 2:10 of the first half to cut the
advantage to 32-29 at the half.
Marois paced the WPI attack with 17 points while Coleman and
Bourque chipped in with 12 and eight respectively. The trio
closed out their NEWMAC regular season career with an eye-popping
41-7 mark in the rugged conference with their only two losses the
past two seasons coming at Babson.
Adam Lirette (Dover, NH) and NT
Izuchi (Boston, MA) each added nine points for the Crimson
and Gray while Jerome Kirkland (Boston, MA)
overcame first half foul trouble of his own to notch seven second
half points. Bourque led the WPI defensive charge with three
blocks.
Greg Bush (East Islip, NY) came of the bench to
lead all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the
floor. His effort helped the Beaver reserves outscore their
WPI counterparts by a 26-12 margin. Zach
Etten (Hollis, NH) added 11 points, while sharing
game-high rebounding honors with six. Chris
Bradley (Mount Vernon, NY) had a solid all-around game
with three blocks, four points, four rebounds and a steal.
WPI, who has already secured its fifth straight NEWMAC regular
season title and third consecutive outright crown, will host their
fifth straight NEWMAC Tournament semifinals and championship game
next week. The Engineers will take on the winner of
Wednesday's first round contest between fourth-seeded Babson and
fifth-seeded Springfield.
