WORCESTER, Mass. -- Junior Wyatt Mowery poured in a game-high 22 points off the bench, but the MIT men's basketball team dropped a 77-66 decision to No. 24 WPI in a NEWMAC contest on Saturday afternoon at Harrington Auditorium. 

THE BASICS:

• Score: No. 24 WPI 77, MIT 66 
• Records: No. 24 WPI 12-3 overall (5-1 NEWMAC), 5-10 overall (1-5 NEWMAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• MIT got off to a hot start, as a layup from Henry Marshall at 14:09 helped the Cambridge Engineers take an early 13-5 lead.
• WPI countered over the next six minutes of play, shrugging off a slow start with a 16-0 run that was capped by five straight points from Jack Bleier to give WPI a 19-13 lead at the 8:07 mark of the first.
• Michael Zhang knocked down a three at 7:17 and Parker Spann dropped in a layup at 6:39 to close the gap to 19-18 but MIT could not regain its early lead as WPI took a 32-28 lead at halftime.
• MIT rallied to tie the game early in the second half, with Zhang and Isaac Dobie hitting three pointers on back-to-back MIT possessions to tie the score 34-34 at 18:37.
• With the score tied, three straight three pointers from WPI's Tim Reidy stalled MIT's momentum and sparked an 11-0 WPI run that put the hosts up 45-34 with 16:13 left in regulation. WPI would go on to lead by as many as 16 points following a bucket from Bleier at the 13:42 mark.
• Mowery helped spark an MIT counter, scoring 11 of his 22 points over the next seven and a half minutes of play as the visiting Engineers trimmed the deficit to three, 63-60, with 6:03 left in the second.
• However, back-to-back baskets from J.R. Newman helped the Worcester Engineers regain a seven-point edge, 67-60, with just over five minutes to play. From there, WPI extended its advantage back to 13 points over the final five minutes, closing out the 77-66 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:   

• Both teams shot a matching 26-for-56 (46.4%) from the floor, but WPI knocked down 17-of-19 free throws while MIT was good on 4-of-5 attempts.
• Mowery had five blocks and five rebounds to go along with his 22 points.
• Dobie added 14 points, six rebounds and three assists.
• Reidy had 21 points to lead WPI while Bleier scored a career-high 17 points.
• WPI outscored MIT 23-9 in points off turnovers and 16-4 in fast break points.

UP NEXT:

• MIT returns home to host Babson in a 6:30 PM NEWMAC contest on Tuesday, January 20. 

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