BOX SCORE

Worcester, Mass. --- Jerome Stewart (Bloomfield, Conn.) led all players with a season-best 17 points to lift host WPI to a 64-49 victory over Babson College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball conference contest on Saturday afternoon.  With the win, WPI ups its record to 17-5 overall and 6-4 in conference play, assuring itself a home game in the NEWMAC quarterfinals.  Babson falls to 9-14 on the season and 2-9 in NEWMAC action.      

Nursing a 16-15 lead midway through the first half, the Engineers held the Beavers without a field goal for a span of 13:19.  During the 28-3 run for WPI, the hosts forced Babson to miss 12 straight attempts from the field and pressured the visitors into 12 turnovers. 

Stewart highlighted three WPI players in double figures.  The sophomore just missed his career-high of 18 points set in December of 2008.  Point guard Kyle Nadeau (Webster, Mass.) finished with 12 points and shared game-high honors with three assists while Jeffrey Robinson (Granby, Conn.) added 11.

The Engineers, who enjoyed a 45-36 edge on the glass, had five players gobble up six or more rebounds.  Matt Carr (Somersworth, N.H.) led the way with eight boards while Bennett Lessard (Belgrade, Maine) grabbed seven and Ben Etten (Hollis, N.H.), Robinson and Stewart all hauled in six.      

 First-year Marcus McDermott (Milton, Mass.) and sophomore Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) led Babson with 11 points each.  McDermott dished a team-best three assists while classmate Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, NY) paced the Beavers on the glass with eight rebounds.  Junior co-captain Eric White (Hyattsville, Md.) and sophomore Marcus Edwards (East Hampton, N.Y.) aided the defensive effort with two steals each off the bench.

Babson returns to Worcester on Wednesday to take on Clark University at 7pm. WPI is back in action on Wednesday when they host at 5:30pm. 

Note: Game story courtesy of WPI Sports Information.