Hartford, CT --- Tim Reidy (Needham, MA) and J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) each drained a pair of 3-pointers during a decisive 21-0 spurt early in the first half to help WPI men's basketball cruise to a 79-48 victory against SUNY-Geneseo in the consolation game of the Trinity Holiday Tournament held in Oosting Gymnasium.
 
The victory snaps a brief two-game winless streak for the Crimson and Gray, which is ranked 15th in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25, and moved the Boynton Hillers to 9-2 overall.   The Knights drop to 3-5 on the season.

With just 8:07 remaining in the first half, Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) became the 30th player in WPI men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-career point milestone to mark the third consecutive season the Engineers had a member achieve the feat.
 
After falling behind 8-5 in the early going, WPI ripped off 21 straight points in under a five span to transform a three-point deficit into an 18-point bulge at 26-8 with 11:38 to go in the first half.   The Engineers canned 8-of-11 shots from the floor during the run, including 5-of-8 from downtown with Reidy and Newman each accounting for six points.  Equally as impressive was the WPI defense, which denied the Knights on eight straight possessions, including shooting 0-for-4 without an offensive rebound and four turnovers.
 
WPI continued to score at a high rate in the half, registering a season-high 53 points in the opening 20 minutes.  The Crimson and Gray shot 57.6% (19-of-33) from the field in the first half and a nearly identical rate of 57.1% (12-of-21) from downtown.  The combination of Callahan, Reidy and Newman combined to shoot 10-of-12 on 3-pointers to help the Engineers take a 25-point lead into the break.
 
The second half was a see-saw in terms of runs, WPI netted the first five points, before going scoreless for a span of 7:05 in which the Knights cobbled together nine consecutive points to get back within 21 at 58-37.  The Crimson and Gray then went on a 12-0 run sparked by nine points by Callahan and Jack Bleier (Victor, NY) to put the game out of hand. 
 
Callahan and Reidy shared game-high scoring honors with 17 points apiece.  Callahan also had the team lead in rebounds and assists with six of year and also shared the top of list in steals (2) and blocks (1).  Bleier joined the duo in double figures in scoring with 13 points while Newman finished with nine points, four boards and three assists.  Nicholas Margetson (Baldwin, NY) amassed eight points, three rebounds, three helpers and a pair of steals, Brett Marelli (Hampton, NH) registered seven points and hauled in five caroms and Justin Molen (Newark, DE) contributed five rebounds and doled out three assists.
 
Josh Garelle (Rockville Centre, NY) excelled for SUNY-Geneseo, tossing in 13 points to along with team-highs of nine rebounds and five assists, while Robert Perocolosi (Rockville Centre, NY) stuffed the stat sheet with six points, six boards and three assists.
 
As a team, the Engineers were credited with 22 assists on 30 made baskets, committed only nine turnovers, parlayed 16 SUNY-Geneseo miscues into 23 points, and held a 21-3 edge of the Knights in fast break points.
 
WPI is off for over a week until Wednesday, January 8th when it opens up the 2025 portion of its schedule when it resumes NEWMAC play by entertaining Coast Guard at 5pm.  SUNY-Geneseo is back on the court Friday, hosing RIT at 4pm.