Box Score Worcester, Mass. – WPI's Zach Karalis (North Andover, Mass.) tallied seven points during a game-ending 14-2 run as the host Engineers dashed away any hopes of an upset following 43-43 tie to defeat cross-town rival Clark 57-45 in a battle of teams undefeated in NEWMAC men's basketball play on Wednesday evening.
WPI, ranked No. 6 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, remains perfect on the season at 17-0 and is now 4-0 in conference action. Clark falls to 9-6 overall and 3-1 in NEWMAC contests.
The Cougars got off to a 5-0 lead to start the game then both teams went 4:43 without scoring a bucket before Ryan Kolb (Southington, Conn.) hit a jumper to put the hosts on the board.
Clark sprinted ahead 9-2 but then went 9:49 without a basket and saw the Engineers surge ahead 14-10. The Cougars then scored 12 of the final 16 points in the half to take a 22-18 advantage into the locker room at the break.
The second half started with both teams trading three-pointers before back-to-back buckets by Kolb tied the score at 25 with 17:34 remaining. Clark would then increase its lead to six on a pair of free throws by D.J. Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) and two buckets by Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass.).
The Engineers would then go on a 14-0 run capitalizing on five Clark turnovers during the spurt. Sam Longwell (Acton, Mass.) paced WPI during the run registering seven of his game-high 16 during the uprising.
Down by seven at 41-34, Clark quickly knotted the score as Jonathan Phillips (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored on a strong inside hoop, Armstrong converted inside as well and then Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.) drilled a transition triple.
DaPrato's three-pointer with 6:10 remaining, proved to be the Cougars final basket, however, as WPI would end the game scoring 14 of the last 16 points highlighted by Karalis' heroics to close out the game.
Karalis finished the night with 14 points and Kolb chipped in with 13 of his own. Aaron Davis (Marshfield, Mass.) had an excellent floor game, totaling four points, four assists and seven steals.
Clark was led offensively by Bailey who ended the game with 16 points and six rebounds. Armstrong had a solid night posting 13 points and five boards while Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) starred on the glass, registering a game-high 10 rebounds on the night.
WPI plays the middle contest of three-game home stand Saturday when it hosts MIT at 2:00 p.m. Clark is also home on Saturday, hosting Springfield at 1:00 p.m.
