WORCESTER, Mass. – MIT saw its season best four-game win streak come to an end this afternoon as the Engineers could not overcome an 11-point halftime deficit in a 70-62 setback at No. 12 WPI in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball game. Freshman Bradley Jomard (Paris, France) reached the 20-point mark for a second straight game, netting a season-high 21 for the Engineers. Ian Converse (Woodstock, Conn.) had a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead WPI.

MIT (9-3, 1-1 NEWMAC) looked good out of the gate, scoring the game's first five points and running out to a 9-5 advantage less than five minutes in on a Jomard layup.  The host Engineers rattled off the game's next eight points to take a lead they would not relinquish.  The spurt was highlighted by a traditional three-point play by Sean Doncaster (Medford, Mass), a three-pointer from Clyde Niba (Atlanta, Ga.) and a short jumper via Converse. WPI (12-1, 2-0 NEWMAC) built its bulge into double digits by using an 8-0 stretch in the waning seconds of the first half, including five points by Niba, to take a 42-31 lead into the locker room.

WPI started the second half on a 10-3 surge over the first five minutes, pushing its lead to 52-34 on a basket by Chris Rodgers (Franklin, Mass.). Senior Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y.) hit a three to halt the run and senior Russell Johnson (New York, N.Y.) and freshman Tim Roberts (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) hit on back-to-back shots to pull the Cardinal and Grey back to within 11. 

MIT's deficit again grew to 18 with 3:48 left when Converse drained a three. That was the last field goal that the Worcester Engineers would hit, and MIT was able to chip away at WPI's lead. MIT managed to outscore WPI 12-2 over the final two minutes, with eight points coming from Jomard, but it was not enough as WPI took home the victory. 

Senior Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.) scored 12 points for MIT, with freshman Adam Jurko (Weston, Fla.) adding 11. Senior Lampros Tsontzos (Amarousion, Greece) led the Engineers with six rebounds. For WPI, Niba reached double figures in scoring with 13 points with Rogers chipping in 16 points off the bench.

MIT will return home for its next game, hosting the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday, January 13 at 7:00 p.m.

WPI Sports Information contributed to this release