WORCESTER — The WPI men's basketball team outscored visiting Emerson 50-28 in the second half en route to an 84-55 win over the Lions on Tuesday night inside Harrington Auditorium.
With the win, the Engineers improve to 13-3 overall and 6-1 in NEWMAC play as the visiting Lions fall to 7-9 and 3-4 in conference action.
WPI's junior Nathan Bledsoe (San Antonio, TX) and freshman Oliver Hibbard (East Lyme, CT) struck early connecting on their first three-point attempts before the Engineers misfired on their next nine looks from beyond the arc for the first half. Although, the hosts switched to attacking the rim as WPI recorded 10 layups on its next 12 scoring possessions including a pair of good jump shots from Jack Bleier (Victor, NY) as the Engineers carried a 34–27 advantage into the break.
The Crimson and Gray's offense shined in the second stanza as the Engineers totaled 50 second half points. WPI seized control midway through the period, using an 11-0 run to turn a four-point margin into a commanding double-digit lead. As the Engineers picked up the pace in the second half, Bledsoe, Tim Reidy (Needham, MA), Justin Molen (Newark, DE) and Chris Daniels (Lynnfield, MA) all poured in treys to push the lead as freshman Tao Schreiber (Pompano Beach, FL) connected with J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) on a fast break that led to a vicious one-handed dunk.
Bledsoe led WPI with 15 points, seven rebounds, five steals, and a block as Molen added 13 points and three assists. Reidy and Bleier chipped in 12 points apiece. WPI shot 28-for-52 from the floor and forced 20 turnovers which led to 22 points for the Engineers off of Emerson's miscues. WPI outscored the Lions in points in the paint (38-14), fast break points (22-10) and bench points (47-27) as all members of the Engineers logged minutes on the night.
Emerson was paced by junior Guillermo Gasset Ruiz (Malaga, Spain) with eight points, while senior Linus Helmhold (Krefeld, Germany) contributed six points and five rebounds.
Both squads return to action on Thursday at 7pm in NEWMAC tilts as the Crimson and Gray head to Norton to take on the Lyons as Emerson will play host to Springfield.
