Box Score North Adams, MA --- Five different WPI players reached double figures in scoring as the No. 18 Engineers went on the road and defeated MCLA 84-69 on Wednesday evening.
Aaron Todd (York, ME) notched a career-high 19 points while Clyde Niba (Atlanta, GA) did his work at the free throw line going 10-10 from the stripe en route to his 18 points. Ian Converse (Woodstock, CT) came off the bench to record a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds, including 9 on the offensive end. Sean Doncaster (Medford, MA) finished with 13 points while Obi Obiora (Boston, MA) ended with 10.
Khalil Paul (Troy, NY) had a monster night for the host Trailblazers, leading all players with 36 points. He shot 12-20 from the floor including a 7-12 performance from beyond the three point line. The senior scored 20 points in the opening half and closed with 16 more in the second before fouling out. Joe Wiggins (Pittsfield, MA) overcame early foul trouble to score 12 points for the Trailblazers. Dakari Hannah Wornum (Dorchester, MA) added 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks for MCLA.
The visitors were on the verge of pulling away early in the second half when after Obiora converted a lay in, they were ahead 61-49 with 12:57 left to play. MCLA would mount a comeback sparked by Wiggins as the Trailblazers would outscore WPI 10-1 over the next four minutes of action to cut the margin to just 62-59. The deficit was as close as MCLA would get though as the Engineers responded.
A Doncaster three put them back up six points, and after Paul would convert a pair of freebies on the other end, Doncaster would strike again from deep making it 68-61 with under five minutes remaining. WPI would then hold MCLA to just one field goal over the remainder of the game to close out the victory.
Niba was tough down the stretch as he didn't miss a free throw in the second half. He scored 12 of WPI's final 14 points to seal the win.
In the opening half, the pace was up and down the floor as the teams were trading buckets early. For the first eight minutes of play, neither team led by more than three points. With the score at 13-10 in favor of MCLA with 13:55 to play, WPI would embark on a 9-0 run to take the lead at 19-13 with still 11:34 left til halftime.
At that point, Paul kept MCLA in it. WPI took advantage of their rebounding to score, but Paul had the answer scoring twelve straight points for his team to keep them close. His jumper with six minutes left in the half closed the spurt and pulled MCLA within a point at 29-28. From there, WPI would take control going on a 17-8 run to close the half. They were up 46-33 late, but once again Paul drilled a deep triple at the buzzer to send the teams into the locker room with the visitors holding a 46-36 lead.
The WPI bench outscored MCLA's 20-0 in the game and they helped the team outrebound MCLA 51-32. Converse's career-high 15 rebounds equaled the most by an Engineer player in a game since Antoine Coleman pulled down 16 boards against Nichols on November 16th, 2007, the first game in the post Ryan Cain era for WPI. Matt Carr (1/19/11 at Clark), Fernando Perez (1/27/10 at Babson) and Chad LaBove (12/7/13 vs. Fitchburg State) are the other three to grab 15 rebounds in the past decade.
Shane Farley (Burlington, MA) handed out a career-best six assists for the guests.
WPI ended the night shooting 43% from the floor while they held the Trailblazers to just 24% shooting in the second half after the Trailblazers shot a solid 52% in the opening half. Much of that first half damage was done by Paul. The Trailblazers made just a pair of field goals from inside the arc in the second half doing most of their damage on the perimeter. The Trailblazers canned 11 three point shots in the contest.
WPI is off for final exams and the returns to the court on Tuesday, December 29th at Bates at 5:30pm. MCLA heads to RPI this weekend for the Tri State Shootout Saturday and Sunday.
Majority of Release Courtesy MCLA Athletics
