WORCESTER, Mass. – A trio of WPI men's basketball players scored in double digits to top Worcester State 91-54 in a non-conference Tuesday (Nov. 22) night matchup inside the Lancer Gymnasium.
The Engineers, who are receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25, are now 4-0 on the young season while the Lancers slip to 0-4 overall.
The WPI offense was ignited by Jamani Spencer (Closter, N.J.) who scored a game-high 17 points. Close behind him was Connor Willgress (Mill Creek, Wa.) and Sean Doncaster (Medford, Mass.) with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Ian Converse (Woodstock, Conn.) led the defense with nine rebounds (three offensive and six defensive), while teammate Willgress recorded six rebounds.
Worcester State was led by freshman guard Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) who tallied 11 points. Teammate Jamal Mustapha (Worcester, Mass.) followed with eight points and led the game with two blocks. Defensively, Marquez McKreith-Collins (Springfield, Ma.) registered six boards while Corey Gatta (Sturbridge, Mass.) and Jeremy Bacon (Milford, Mass.) picked up four apiece.
The Worcester State Lancers took a short-lived lead within the first minute of the game on a layup from Mickey Lyons (Burlington, Ma.). Seconds later the WPI Engineers responded with two made free throws by Willgress tying the game at 2-2. The Engineer's next possession was led by Willgress with a 3-point jump shot to put WPI on top for good.
The Engineers took a deeper lead with 14 minutes left in the first half when both James Loring (Norton, Mass.) and Jamani Spencer made back to back 3-point shots bringing the score to 16-6.
Willgress was the story early for the Crimson and Gray, scoring WPI's first eight points as the guests never trailed and scored eight of the game's first 10 points. Three point shooting was the key to the Engineers quick start as they connected on 10-of-15 first half trifecta attempts.
The Engineers maintained their substantial lead into the second half. However, the Lancers projected a game-ending 15-5 run beginning with a 3-pointer from Howes.
For the game the Engineers enjoyed a 32-22 advantage in points in the paint, a 18-7 edge in points off of turnovers and saw its reserves outscores the Lancer bench by a 49-26 margin.
The Lancer's finished the game with 81.3% at the foul line and the Engineers finished with an outstanding 63.6% at the 3-point line.
Both teams are off until next week. WPI will head to Medford to face fifth-ranked Tufts on Tuesday at 7pm while Worcester State hosts Lasell next Thursday at 8pm.