Men’s Basketball Falls Short Against WPI
Framingham, Mass. - Junior guard Jeffery Robinson (Granby, Conn.) scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the second half to help WPI eek out a 76-74 victory over host Framingham State in non-conference men's basketball action on Tuesday evening. The win pushes WPI's record to 4-0 on the young season while the Rams fall to 1-3.
The first half featured prolonged runs by both squads. WPI used an 11-2 spurt midway through the opening half to open up a 24-13 advantage before the Rams rattled off 21 of the game's next 29 points to take a 34-31 lead on back-to-back threes from senior guards Chad Dixon (Brockton, Mass.) and Darius Yarrell (Brockton, Mass.).
A Matt Carr (Somersworth, NH) dunk and a Fernando Perez (Lowell, Mass.) jumper in the final 2:27 helped the Engineers take a 35-34 lead into the half.
Bill Carey (Abington, Mass.) led the way for the Rams in the first half draining all five of his field goal attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers, for 13 points.
With the game tied at 70, Ben Etten (Hollis, NH) drained one of the two free throws with 1:34 remaining to give WPI a lead it would not relinquish. After a defensive stop, Kyle Nadeau (Webster, MA) made a driving layup to push the lead to three. Robinson and Etten combined to can three of four free throws in the final 27 seconds to secure the victory for the visitors.
Roderick Jackson (Cambridge, Mass.) collected his first double-double of the season with a team-high 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the floor and a team high 11 boards. All 23 of Jackson's points were scored in the second half as he fueled the Rams comeback efforts. Carey struggled from the field in the second half but finished with 16 points and three assists, while Dixon also recorded double figures with 13 points.
Robinson collected a game-high 27 points including 13 of 16 from the free throw line. Perez finished one point shy of his career high with 18 points and eight boards, while Carr chipped in 10 points on 4 of 6 from the floor to go along with eight rebounds.
The Rams return to action on Friday and Saturday at the UMass Boston Harbor Tournament. The Rams open Friday evening with Embry-Riddle University at 7:30 p.m., while the Engineers are idle until December 1st when they host Curry College at 7 p.m.