Worcester State Men's Basketball Falls to Cross-Town Rival WPI, 88-72

WORCESTER, Mass. – Reid Walker (Lithia, Fla.) led all scoring with 21 points as the Engineers of WPI defeated the Lancers of Worcester State by a score of 88-72 Tuesday evening in non-league action inside the Lancer Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

November 21, 2017

Lancer Gymnasium

Score: WPI 88, Worcester State 72

Records: WPI (2-1) | Worcester State (0-4)

1^ST HALF

Worcester State was the first to reach the board on a layup from Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.). WPI saw its first lead of the evening following a triple from Dave Zielinski (Shelton, Conn.), though, Howes stole the lead back on a layup 30 seconds later. The Lancers advanced their lead to four when Will Watkins Jr. (Southbridge, Mass.) drained a triple with 17:49 remaining in the first. WPI snipped away at the Lancers' lead and knotted the score at 7-7 following a jumper and a pair of free throws from Jake Wisniewski (West Brookfield, Mass.). The Engineers gained a four point lead on layups from Dakota Wheeler (Easthampton, Mass.) and Jake Needleman (Morganville, N.J.) with under 15 minutes to go. WPI pushed away from the Lancers and went on an 11-2 run to advance their lead to 10. Succeeding a triple from Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plains, Mass.) with 8:57 on the clock, WPI went on another run and scored 10 consecutive points to advance the lead to 17. Worcester State burst out a 10-2 run with two minutes to spare and cut the deficit to 10 before Reid wrapped up the half with a layup to put the score at 44-32.

2^ND HALF

The Engineers maintained a 10-point lead for the majority of the second half. Worcester State got within eight with 4:48 remaining following free throws from Shaun McCarthy (Oxford, Mass.). Though, Andreas Bitsos (Athens, Greece) and Aaron Todd (York, Maine) accounted for eight consecutive points with 4:24 on the clock to advance the visitors lead to 20. Worcester State fought back with a triple from Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) and a layup from Watkins, but WPI had already put the game away and the night concluded with an 88-72 win for the Engineers.

DOWN FOR A COUNT

• Three Engineers scored double-digits figures, including Walker (21), Bitsos (16), and Chris Rodgers (14).
• Bitsos shot 75% from 3-point range, as he made 3-of-4 attempts.
• Rodgers went 6-for-8 from the field and led the Engineers with a game-high eight assists and also a game-high six rebounds.
• Worcester State's offense was led by Howes who collected 19 points.
• Two other Lancers scored double-digits: McCarthy had 15 points, while Watkins Jr. logged 14 and led the Blue and Gold in board with four.
• Joe Desormier (Granby, Mass.) notched a team-best six assists in the setback.
• WPI held a 56.5 field goal percentage, and shot 50% from 3-point range.
• Worcester State shot 42.1% from the field, and 40% from beyond the arc.
• Worcester State held the margin in free throw percentage, going 80% while WPI only shot 47.8% from the charity stripe.
• The Engineers outrebounded Worcester State 40-28 and caused 19 Lancer turnovers.
• 39-of-88 (43.3%) of WPI's points came from the players on the bench.
• 56.8% of the Engineer's points were scored in the paint.
• WPI is 8-0 against Worcester State in the past decade.

UP NEXT

A week from today (Nov. 28), Worcester State will host Skidmore College in a 7 p.m. contest. WPI returns to action on Saturday (Nov. 25) when they travel to Albertus Magnus for a 3 p.m. matchup.

GET SOCIAL

Follow Worcester State Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube