Newport, RI --- Brett Marelli (Hampton, NH) scored what proved to be the winning basket and then swiped the game-saving steal in the final seconds as nationally-ranked WPI survived its third road game in five days with a 58-56 nail-biting NEWMAC men's basketball triumph at Salve Regina on Saturday afternoon.

WPI, winners of eight consecutive contests and ranked 19th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, is now 16-2 on the year and 8-1 in NEWMAC play. Under head coach Chris Bartley, the WPI team has now started the season 16-2 or better for the sixth time in the past 12 years and the ninth time in the last 20 seasons. This game concludes the five-day streak where WPI played three games on the road. Salve Regina falls to 7-11 overall and 4-5 in conference action.
 
Marelli opened the scoring for the Engineers, but the Seahawks came out firing, knocking down 3-for-3 from behind the arc in the opening minutes. Brad Fowler (Colden, NY) added a mid-range jumper to cap the early surge, giving Salve Regina an 11-2 advantage with 16:14 on the clock. Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) responded with a quick bucket for the Engineers, but Fowler stayed hot, hitting a pull-up jumper at the 15:06 mark to bring his total to seven points and extend Salve Regina's lead to 13-4.
 
A crafty hook shot by Marelli trimmed the gap to seven, but the Seahawks capitalized at the stripe, hitting 3-of-4 free throws to push their lead to double digits, 18-8, with 10:22 remaining in the first half.
 
WPI mounted a 7-0 spurt, spearheaded by a Jack Bleier (Victor, NY) driving layup and a clutch three-pointer. Fowler and J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) exchanged layups in a back-and-forth stretch, narrowing the gap to 20-17 with Salve Regina clinging to the lead at the 7:17 mark.
 
The Seahawks got a boost from Declan Walmsley (Franklin, MA) and Sean Seymour (Albany, NY), who each added a bucket to extend the advantage to 25-17. However, WPI stormed back with a late 10-0 run, ignited by Callahan, who drilled a three-pointer and sank two pull-up jumpers to fuel the surge. Tim Reidy (Needham, MA) capped off the run, burying a corner three to bring WPI back into contention. The first half wrapped up in a deadlock, with the score knotted at 27-27.
 
Callahan powered the Engineers in the first half, accounting for a third of their points while adding two rebounds. Bleier and Reidy chipped in with five points and a board each, while Marelli added five caroms and a steal.
 
Fowler matched Callahan's effort, scoring a third of Salve Regina's first-half points with nine while dominating the glass with eight rebounds. Walmsley added seven points to the Seahawks' tally, and William Mensah (Newburgh, NY) contributed three points, eight boards, and a steal.
 
Salve Regina's defense set the tone early in the second half, stifling WPI's offense and holding them to just 2-of-13 shooting over the first six minutes. Meanwhile, the Seahawks capitalized on 5-of-10 shooting to take a five-point lead, 38-33, with 14:04 remaining.
 
Pat Spenard (Rochester, MA) knocked down a jumper, and Walmsley buried a three-pointer for the hosts to extend the lead to eight, 43-35, with 11:57 left on the clock. However, WPI fought back with back-to-back three-pointers from Callahan and Newman, slicing the deficit to just two points with just over nine minutes remaining.
 
Callahan sank a floating jumper to knot the game at 43-43. In a thrilling stretch from 6:20 to 5:30, both teams traded a layup and a three-pointer, keeping the score deadlocked at 48-48. Marelli then capitalized at the free-throw line, going 3-for-4 to give WPI its largest lead of the game at three points. Jojo Powers (Dedham, MA) responded for Salve Regina, hitting a free throw at 3:20 and following it up with a driving layup at 2:46 to tie the game once more at 51-51.
 
Marelli put WPI back in front with a driving layup, giving the Engineers a two-point lead. However, on the very next possession, Powers answered for Salve Regina with a clutch three-pointer, putting the Seahawks back on top by one, 54-53, with 1:47 remaining.
 
WPI refused to back down when Callahan nailed a left-wing three-pointer, putting the Engineers ahead by two with 1:24 left. But Mensah quickly answered for Salve Regina, tipping in a rebound to tie the game at 56. Marelli banked in a shot on the next possession, putting WPI up by two with 37.0 seconds remaining.
 
The Seahawks had a chance to respond but missed on their next trip down the court. They fouled WPI twice, but neither resulted in free throws. In a dramatic turn, WPI executed a crucial inbound play, only for the hosts Zavier Francoeur (Canton, MA) to steal the ball and give the Seahawks one last shot with 6.5 seconds to go. Walmsley drove for the layup, but Marelli stripped him of the ball just before the shot, giving the Engineers possession with 2.3 seconds left. Salve Regina committed another foul with 1.3 seconds remaining, but it wasn't enough to send WPI to the line. In the end, WPI held on for a hard-fought 58-56 victory.
 
Callahan led the Engineers with 22 points and two assists, putting his career total at 1,117 points which puts him into 21st place of WPI's Men's Basketball 1,000-point scorers of all time. Marelli tallied 13 points and nine boards, putting him one stat short of his second double-double for the fourth time this season. Newman contributed eight points and five caroms. Reidy and Bleier each added five points, with Justin Molen (Newark, DE ) stuffing the stat sheet with five points, eight rebounds, two assists and three steals.
 
For the Seahawks, Fowler earned a dominating double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Powers tallied 15 points on the afternoon, accounting for over half of the hosts points. Walmsley added 10 points and two blocks, while Jack McMullen (East Greenwich, RI) added six points, five assists and a steal.
 
WPI was held to 22-of-65 (33.8%) of field goals on the afternoon, while Salve Regina made 37.3% (22-of-59) from the court. The Seahawks saw 7-of-17 (41.2%) shooting from behind the arc, while the Engineers saw an advantage in on court points, 40-26.
 
Both teams continue with NEWMAC action next week on Wednesday at 5:30pm. WPI travels home to face Babson while Salve Regina entertains Clark.
 
Recap written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Maya Vartabedian '24 '25