WORCESTER -- J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) led No. 19 WPI with 15 points, including seven in the final four minutes, as the Engineers rallied from a late deficit for the second time in as many games this season to stay undefeated as the Crimson and Gray defeated host Worcester State 81-73 Friday evening in the Lancers home opener.
 
The victory moves WPI to 2-0 for the fifth consecutive campaign and for the 20th time in the last 22 seasons.  Worcester State is now 1-3 on the year.
 
After leading for the nearly the entire first half, the visitors found themselves in a five-point hole, down 63-58 with 6:20 remining, but quickly uncorked eight straight points, bookended by a Justin Molen (Newark, DE) layup and two free throws and sandwiched around a Tim Reidy (Needham, MA) 3-pointer.   WPI was ahead by two with under four minutes left and turned to Newman, who registered layups on three of WPI's next four possessions, and then after the senior drained a free throw to put the Engineers up four with 1:22, the guests got a defensive stop and then iced the game on its next trip with a Nathan Bledsoe (San Antonio, TX) 3-pointer in transition with just 30 seconds left.
 
Including Newman, the Crimson and Gray had six players finish with between nine and 15 points.  Rookie Tao Schreiber (Pompano Beach, FL) added 13 points in the win while Reidy finished with 12, Molen 10 and Bledsoe and Jack Bleier (Victor, NY) accounted for nine points apiece. Nicholas Margetson (Baldwin, NY) shared game-high honors in both rebounding (7) and assists (3) while Matt Morvillo (Bedford, MA), Newman, Bledsoe and Molen all hauled in five boards on the night. 
 
After Worcester State led by as many as four points early in the going, the Crimson and Gray used a strong perimeter game to sprint to an 11-point advantage at 27-16 with 8:27 to go in the first half.  The Engineers drained 10-of-14 shots from the field to start the game shooting at sizzling 71.4%, including 4-of-6 from downtown.   

The Lancers stayed with WPI for the next three minutes and were within six points before the guests, fueled by six points by rookie Schreiber and four from Morvillo rattled off 10 straight points to grab a 41-25 edge with 1:18 remaining before intermission.  WSU received buckets by Rayan Sablon (Stoughton, MA) and Camdyn Shoesmith (Bedford, MA) in the final minute before halftime to slice the Engineer lead to 12, 41-29, at the break.  Reidy drained 3-of-4 first half trifecta attempts for nine points for WPI while Sablon paced the Lancers with eight.
 
The hosts came out of the locker room energized, notching 15 of the second half's first 17 points to seize the lead 44-43 just 5:41 into the stanza.  Johnny Annan (Worcester, MA) and Sablon teamed up for 10 of the 15 Lancer's points during the spurt.
 
Sablon provided 24 points off the bench for the Lancers with Annan accounting for 12 of his 14 points after halftime.  Joe Okla (Worcester, MA) also excelled for WSU, tallying nine points and seven rebounds.
 
The Engineers return to the friendly confines of Harrington Auditorium on Tuesday evening for its only remaining home contest until late December.  The Engineers will face off with UMass Dartmouth at 7:30pm following WPI's Women's Basketball's home opener will Conn College at 5:30pm.  After an over a week hiatus, Worcester State kicks off a three-game road trip at Western New England on Tuesday, November 25th at 6pm.