WPI Holds Off Second Half Charge from Men's Basketball for 70-61 Victory

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team rallied late in the second half, but the WPI Engineers held off the comeback and secured a 70-61 victory in non-conference action at the Athletic Center. 

THE BASICS:

- Score:  WPI 70, Framingham State 61

- Records: Framingham State (1-6), WPI (7-0)

- Location: Athletic Center – Framingham, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Engineers opened the game with a 10-3 run and pushed the lead to 24-5 on a three from freshman Logan O'Donnell midway through the half.
• The Rams chipped away at the deficit and trailed 28-17 after free throws from senior Manny Payton (Fitchburg, Mass.) and freshman Tajahn Joyner (Amherst, Mass.) with just over five minutes remaining.
• The Rams cut the deficit down to eight on three by freshman Tomas Donoyan (Belmont, Mass.), but WPI answered with a three from Jake Needleman pushing the lead back to 11 with 4:50 on the clock.
• A Payton three point play with 30 seconds remaining in the first sent the Rams to the locker room trailing 36-29.
• WPI maintained the lead throughout the second half, but the Rams made things interesting cutting the lead to six on three with the shot clock expiring from junior Tyri Hampton (Fitchburg, Mass.) and a layup from sophomore Cameren McCloud-Thomas (Springfield, Mass.) with 7:09 on the clock.
• A basket from Garrett Stephenson with 6:54 remaining pushed the lead back to eight (62-54) for the Engineers. 
• The Rams closed the gap to 62-59 with 3:50 on the clock remaining on a basket by Payton, but Dakota Wheeler answered with a three on the next possession pushing the Engineers lead back to 65-59.  That was as close as the Rams would get as WPI secured the victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Engineers saw three players record double figures with Reid Walker leading the way with 13 points.  Walker added three rebounds, two assists, five steals and two blocks.
• Jake Wisniewski and O'Donnell recorded 11 points apiece. Wisniewski also added a game-best 11 boards, while O'Donnell added seven.
• The Rams were paced by a double double of a game-high 16 points and a team-high 10 boards from Hampton.
• Payton chipped in with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, while senior Khaneil Bruce (Cambridge, Mass.) added eight points and six rebounds.

UP NEXT:

The Rams are back in action on Thursday when they travel to Clark for a 7 p.m. game, while WPI is back in action on Saturday when they travel to Salem State at 1 p.m.