WORCESTER, MA -- Nathan Bledsoe (San Antonio, TX) broke a 60-60 deadlock with 3-pointer from the top of the key with 19.4 seconds to go as the WPI men's basketball team held off a Salem State second half rally and defeated the visiting Vikings 63-60 in a non-conference matchup played Thursday evening inside Harrington Auditorium.   
 
The Engineers, who are receiving votes in the preseason D3hoops.com Top 25, are now 5-0 for the third straight season while Salem State slips to 1-4 on the young season. 
 
The hosts, who had never trailed in three of their previous outings this season, looked well on their way to accomplishing the feat for a fourth straight game, led by 13 at the break and by as many as 15 early in the second half, before the Vikings came roaring back, taking their first lead at 53-52 with 8:57 to go on a nifty trey by Juan Diaz Beltres (Lowell, MA). 
 
Three-pointers by Aidan Calahan (Rowley, MA) and Tim Reidy (Needham, MA) put the Engineers back ahead by 5 at 60-55 with 3:19 remaining but SSU clawed back to draw even with back-to-back layups by Wil Martinez (Revere, MA) and a Tyrese Rho (Boston, MA) free throw with 55.2 seconds to go.  On the ensuring possession, Reidy found Bledsoe at the top of the key and the sophomore drilled the 3-pointer to put the Crimson on top for good.  Reidy's stout defense forced a SSU miss of a game tying 3-pointer in the final two seconds.
 
Brett Marelli (Hampton, NH) started off strong for the Engineers, knocking down his first three contested layup attempts and added on a steal in the fourth minute of action. The game had its first tie of the night at 12-12, but WPI then saw a 11-4 run highlighted by back-to-back treys by Reidy and Bledsoe.
 
There was a flurry of scoring by both teams to conclude the first stanza. For the Crimson and Gray, Nicholas Margetson (Baldwin, NY) added a pull up shot while Bledsoe hit two shots from behind the arc. For the Vikings, Rho took charge and made a layup and three-pointer.
 
To end the half, five Engineers dented the scoring column to go into the locker room with a 42-29 edge.  Margetson and Bledsoe each tallied nine points with Margetson adding on four assists. Marelli, Reidy and Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) added eight points apiece with Marelli grabbing six boards. For Salem State, Rho registered 11 points and one rebound. Lamont Hicks (Gardner, MA) and Omri Merryman (Lynn, MA) each accounted for seven points with Hicks snatching two steals.
 
A Callahan driving layup began the second half, followed by a 7-0 run by the Vikings featuring three different scorers. The next plays that were successful for the Engineers were mirrored by Salem State. A Margetson layup for a Hicks layup, a Reidy field goal for a Liam Byrne (Melrose, MA) field goal, and a Matt Morvillo (Bedford, MA) jumper for a Rho jumper to conclude the three-minute spurt of back-and-forth scoring.
 
The game experienced a lull in scoring until Merryman ended the 2:27 minute drought with a three-pointer to bring the contest to 50-45 in favor of WPI with 11:11 remaining before SSU's surge to claim the lead for the first time.
 
For the game, Reidy and Callahan each accounted for 13 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Boynton Hillers. Bledsoe added on 12 points, all on 3-pointers, while Marelli notched eight points and a career-high 10 boards. For SSU, Merryman accumulated the game-high 19 points and added four rebounds. Rho tacked on 17 points and Hicks swiped three steals.
 
WPI made 40.0% (24-60) of field goals on the game and scored 16 bench points. Salem State shot 21-58 (36.2%) of shots overall, including 10 second chance points.
 
WPI hosts Fitchburg State in a 6pm matchup on Tuesday. UMass Dartmouth is on the road again to battle Plymouth State on Saturday at 1pm.
 
Recap Written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Maya Vartabedian '24 '25