WORCESTER -- Justin Molen (Newark, DE) scored 13 of his team-high 19 points after halftime as WPI sprinted out to a sizable lead, weathered a strong second-half surge from Salve Regina, and then pulled away late to edge the Seahawks 70-58 in an important NEWMAC men's basketball contest played Saturday afternoon inside Harrington Auditorium.
The Crimson and Gray, who is receiving votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 and is ranked second in the initial NCAA Region II rankings, ups their record to 17-4 on the season and 10-2 in conference action. With two weeks to go in the regular season, WPI continues to lead Babson (a 71-56 winner over Springfield) by a game, but the Engineers hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their season sweep of the Beavers. Salve Regina slips to 15-6 overall and 8-4 in NEWMAC play, two games adrift of the league-leading Boynton Hillers.
Matt Morvillo (Bedford, MA) and Tim Reidy (Needham, MA) combined for WPI's first 12 points as the Engineers jumped out to a 12–8 lead less than five minutes into the game. An 11–0 run shortly thereafter, sparked by a conventional three-point play from Molen and three-pointers from Tao Schreiber (Pompano Beach, FL) and Nathan Bledsoe (San Antonio, TX), helped WPI build an advantage that grew to 17 late in the first half and resulted in a 41–26 Crimson and Gray lead at the break.
Bledsoe knocked down three first-half three-pointers and shared first-half scoring honors with Salve Regina's Domenic Malvey (Newton, NH), as both finished the opening half with 11 points.
The hosts extended their lead to 18 points at 48–30 less than four minutes into the second half following a pair of free throws from Molen. The Engineers then went cold, missing 10 straight shots, as Salve Regina — fueled by eight points from Rowan Linder (Boca Raton, FL) — connected on 6-of-8 attempts and rattled off 16 consecutive points. The surge cut the deficit to two after a three-pointer from Sean Seymour (Albany, NY) with 9:20 remaining.
Four free throws from Tao Schreiber (Pompano Beach, FL) and a three-pointer by Molen helped WPI push the margin back to nine. The Seahawks crept within four on their final push, but the Crimson and Gray continued to capitalize at the free-throw line, shooting 16-for-19 (84.2%), to secure the victory.
Molen was one of four WPI players to score in double figures, as Reidy, Bledsoe and Schreiber each finished with 13 points. J.R. Newman (Havertown, PA) pulled down a team-best eight rebounds, while Nicholas Margetson (Baldwin, NY) handed out a game-high five assists.
Malvey went 9-for-13 from the field to lead all scorers with 20 points for the Seahawks. Linder added all 15 of his points in the second half, while Pat Spenard (Rochester, MA) finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards.
WPI concludes a two-game homestand on Wednesday, hosting Coast Guard in the opener of a rare NEWMAC men's and women's basketball doubleheader, with tipoff set for 5:30pm. Salve Regina returns home on Saturday, welcoming Springfield to Newport for a 7pm start.
