BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior John Lowther (Hingham, Mass.) scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to help 24th-ranked WPI defeat Babson College, 83-64, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.

Babson, which had its six-game winning streak snapped, falls to 15-6 overall and 8-2 in league play. WPI, which is now 18-2 overall, is alone in first place at 9-1 in the NEWMAC.

First-year Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Kieran Dorney (Garden City, N.Y.) went 7-of-10 from the floor and scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half for the Beavers. Graduate student Mitchell Kirsch (Atkinson, N.H.) added 10 points and four assists in the loss.

Lowther finished 11-of-19 from the floor and added nine rebounds to lead four players in double figures for the Engineers. Sophomore John Adams (Douglas, Mass.) scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, graduate student Colin McNamara (Arlington, Mass.) added 14 points and classmate Kahleb Downing (Middletown, Conn.) contributed 10 points in the victory.

Dorney scored eight early points and canned a three-pointer to help give the Green and White a 14-13 lead just over five minutes into the contest. WPI responded with triples from first-year Aidan Callahan (Rowley, Mass.), McNamara and sophomore Andrew Lufkin (Auburn, N.H.) as part of an 11-2 burst to help forge a 24-16 advantage at the 11:53 mark.

Dorney cut the Beavers' deficit back to eight at 33-25 before the Engineers outscored them 16-6 over the final 5:41 of the stanza to build an 18-point halftime lead. Downing, who converted a three-point play with 1.8 seconds to go, and Adams combined to score 10 points during the spurt.

WPI got a dunk from Lowther and a bucket by McNamara to take a 22-point lead, its largest of the game, 37 seconds into the second half before Babson countered with a 15-6 run that included 12 points from Amado and senior Colin Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) to get within 59-46 with 14:14 left in the game. The Beavers were unable to pull any closer though, as McNamara hit back-to-back jumpers and Lowther followed with the Engineers' next 12 points to extend the margin back to 75-55 with 6:15 remaining.

The Beavers shot just 39.7 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 46-28. WPI shot 60 percent in the first half and 53.2 percent for the game in addition to outscoring the hosts 34-28 in the paint.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as Babson travels to Springfield while WPI visits MIT.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 50-36 all-time against the Engineers, who have won four straight in the series going back to 2020.
• Saturday's loss was just the second at home this season for Babson, which had won seven in a row inside Staake Gymnasium since falling to seventh-ranked Saint Joseph (Conn.) back in November.
• The Beavers are just 2-3 on the year when shooting below 40 percent.
• Despite the loss, Babson clinched a spot in the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament thanks to Springfield's loss to Wheaton.