WORCESTER, Mass. - Led by Chris Rodgers (Franklin, MA) with 13 points, nationally-ranked WPI used a balanced attack to defeat visiting Curry 67-54 in a non-conference men's basketball contest on Tuesday night in Harrington Auditorium.
The Engineers, 12th in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25, improve to 2-0 for the 12th consecutive season while the Colonels dip to 1-2.
Rodgers went 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 at the line. Clyde Niba (Atlanta, GA) and Sam Longwell (Acton, MA) each added 11 points as nine more Engineers scored at least a pair. Niba and Longwell combined for 13 rebounds. Sean Doncaster (Medford, MA) added three helpers and Aaron Davis (Marshfield, MA) logged four steals.
Curry's Antonio Jones (Dorchester, MA) scored a game-best 25 points to go with three assists and five steals. Damani Carter (Miami, FL) pitched in with 13 points and six rebounds as Matt Russell (South Portland, ME) and Tasos Filippou (Athens, Greece) each hauled in five boards.
The first half saw 12 lead changes and six ties with neither team up by more than three despite the Engineers maintaining the advantage for nearly half of the frame. WPI, led by Zach Karalis (North Andover, MA) with five off the bench, saw 10 of its 12 players dent the scoreboard in the opening 20 minutes. Jones led the charge for Curry with 16 points, including 10-for-12 at the charity stripe. After the break, WPI slowly built a 21-point lead with 5:29 left in the game. Curry, however, looked to get back in it with an 11-3 spurt down the stretch, headlined by three jumpers by Jones.
As a team, WPI shot 42.6 percent and Curry shot 34.6 percent from the field. The Engineers held advantages in the paint (30-22), on the fast break (6-2) and in bench points (31-15). The Colonels had a 19-17 edge in points off turnovers and second chance points (10-9).
WPI heads to Stevenson University in Owings Mills, MD for this weekend's Hoopsville National Invitational Classic. The Engineers will tangle with Chicago at 3pm Saturday before facing No. 20 Cabrini on Sunday at 2pm. Curry is off until next Tuesday when it ventures to UMass Dartmouth for a 7pm matchup. (Recap courtesy of WPI Sports Information)
