HARTFORD, Conn. – Suffolk men's basketball relied on a 20-point lead in the second stanza to hold off No. 15 WPI and take down the Engineers, 63-53, Monday night at the Trinity Holiday Tournament at Stan Ogrodnik Court in Ray Oosting Gymnasium.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 65 | No. 15 WPI 53
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-2) | No. 15 WPI (8-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After five lead exchanges and the score leveled for the second time on the night at 11-all at the midway point. Thanks to five quick points by Liam Cunnie padded the Rams advantage to five, 16-11, with 8:48 left before half time.
Suffolk remained in front the rest of the first frame as it responded to the Engineers' hoops to take a 27-23 lead into the locker room.
The blue-and-gold stormed out of the break and outscored WPI, 12-4 to take a comfortable, 39-27, with six minutes removed from the second stanza.
That gap grew to as many as 21 in Suffolk's favor, 52-31, with 7:25 on the clock.
WPI battled back and trimmed the Rams' advantage down to a dozen with just under five minutes remaining behind nine unanswered points.
Things stayed interesting down the stretch as the Engineers continued to mount a comeback and pulled within one-possession, 57-53, with 1:37 to go.
Thankfully, Suffolk was successful at its free throw shooting over the final 90 seconds to lock up the victory.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Danny Yardemian powered Suffolk's scoring with a game-high 18 points on a 7-for-13 showing from the floor. The grad student added seven rebounds, two steals and one assist.
- Jake Gomez was one board shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine caroms to go along with four handouts, one block and one takeaway.
- Keenan Robertson had an all-around performance with nine points, nine rebounds, four helpers and two steals.
- Nick Verdile added eight points, two boards, one dime and one steal.
- Cole LeVangie pitched in six points, six rebounds and one handout.
- As a team, Suffolks hot 43.1 percent (22-51) from the field, 26.3 percent (5-19) from 3-point range and 66.7 percent (16-24) from the charity stripe.
- The Rams outrebounded the Engineers, 40-36.
NOTEWORTHY
- The Rams won their fourth straight game, which marks the longest win streak rattling off four victories in a row Jan. 17-27, 2024.
- Suffolk and WPI renewed a rivalry, meeting for the first time since Dec. 3, 1998.
- The Rams improved to 4-18 versus the Engineers all time.
- Suffolk defeated WPI in back-to-back meetings for the first time in the all-time series.
- Suffolk and WPI battled at a neutral site for the first time.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is set to face No. 3 Trinity in the title tilt of the Trinity Holiday Tournament tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 2:30 p.m.
