WORCESTER -- Justin Molen (Newark, DE) tallied a career-high 19 points to propel the No.19 WPI men's basketball team to a come-from-behind 71-65 triumph of Babson on Wednesday evening inside Harrington Auditorium.
 
WPI, winners of nine consecutive contests and ranked 18th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, is now 17-2 overall and 9-1 in NEWMAC action. Babson, which had handed the Engineers one of their new losses this season nearly eight weeks ago, drops to 12-7 on the year and 6-4 in conference play.
 
Babson struck first on the scoreboard with a jumper from Nate Amado (Hanson, MA). WPI responded with a 6-0 surge, with Brett Marelli (Hampton, NH) and Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) each contributing a basket. The Beavers quickly pulled even at 6-6 when Amado knocked down another jumper at the 16:10 mark. The Engineers answered back as Molen found his rhythm, driving in for a layup before drilling a four-point play on the next possession, pushing the hosts lead to 12-6 with 14:37 remaining.
 
The game remained a tight battle, with both teams trading buckets to stay in contention. Babson chipped away at the deficit, narrowing the gap to just two points at 17-15 after Jeremiah Paul (Los Angeles, CA) sank a pair of free throws with 8:34 left in the first half.
 
Vaughn Foster (Paramus, NJ) converted a three-point play for Babson, but WPI responded with a strong push. Tim Reidy (Needham, MA) knocked down two free throws before drilling a three-pointer, while Jack Bleier (Victor, NY) added another triple, stretching the Engineers' lead to 30-20 with 3:31 remaining in the half. However, Babson came roaring back behind Timmy Mulvey (Reading, MA), who fueled a 12-1 run with seven points of his own. The Beavers briefly grabbed the lead, but Bleier's late layup ensured WPI entered the break with a narrow 33-32 advantage.
 
For WPI, Molen led with 10 points and a steal. Callahan contributed four points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Reidy and Bleier each added five points. For Babson, Amado and Mulvey each tallied seven points, with Mulvey grabbing four boards and a block.
 
Amado and Mulvey set the tone for Babson to start the second half, with Amado sinking three baskets and Mulvey drilling back-to-back three-pointers. Their offensive surge pushed the Beavers ahead by seven, 44-37, with just under 16 minutes remaining.
 
WPI refused to let Babson pull away, as Callahan knocked down a three-pointer before J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) added a jumper, cutting the hosts deficit to two at 44-42. Newman then delivered a clutch three-pointer to put the Engineers back in front, but Babson answered right back with another deep shot from Mulvey, reclaiming the lead at 53-51 with 10:24 remaining.
 
The game remained tight as Callahan buried a three-pointer for WPI to knot the score at 57-57. WPI regained the lead when Newman drove to the hoop, and Reidy added to the momentum with a clutch three-pointer just as the shot clock expired. However, Babson stayed within striking distance, as David Cross (Cinnaminson, NJ) answered with a three on the next possession, keeping the Beavers within two at 62-60 with 5:04 to play.
 
With 3:33 remaining, Molen knocked down a shot to give WPI a 64-62 edge. Paul responded by making one of two free throws, and Babson kept the pressure on as Amado came up with a clutch steal to halt WPI's next possession. However, the Beavers couldn't capitalize, missing on their next trip down the floor. WPI took advantage, as Callahan drove to the rim for a layup, extending the Engineers' lead to 66-63 with 1:29 left to play.
 
Cross missed both free throws with 1:05 left for the Beavers, but WPI couldn't capitalize as Marelli came up short on the next play. Babson had a chance to close the gap when Amado was fouled, but he converted just one of two at the line, making it 66-64 with 25.3 seconds remaining. WPI called a timeout with 21.2 seconds left, and Babson quickly fouled at 20.3 seconds. Newman stepped up and sank both free throws, pushing the Engineers' lead to 68-64. Babson raced back down the court, but Reidy committed a foul, sending Mulvey to the line, where he hit one of two, cutting it to 68-65 with 14.3 seconds left.
 
Nicholas Margetson (Baldwin, NY) then stepped to the line, knocking down both free throws with 13.6 seconds left, extending WPI's lead to 70-65. Babson pushed for a quick score, but Alex Stoddard's (Wellesley, MA) three-point attempt missed with 4.6 seconds remaining. On the other end, Molen hit one of two at the line with 3.9 seconds to go, and Marelli secured the rebound, sealing the 71-65 victory for the Engineers.
 
Molen shined for WPI, notching a career-best 19 points and adding eight boards. Callahan secured his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with his first double-double being on 2/4/2023 ironically against Babson. Reidy and Newman each tallied 11 points. For Babson, Mulvey notched 17 points and two boards. Amado stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals and three blocks.
 
Both teams shot in the 42% range of field goals with Babson netting 42.9% (24-of-56) and WPI making 42.1% (24-of-57). WPI held a slight advantage in made three-pointers, 9-6, and points off turnovers, 18-10.
 
Both squads continue with conference action on Saturday. WPI travels down to CT to battle with Coast Guard at 3pm, while Babson hosts Clark in a 1pm matchup.
 
Recap written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Maya Vartabedian '24 '25