Worcester, MA- As the clock struck midnight on Nov. 8, fans of the Worcester State Lancers and the No. 8 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Engineers filed into WPI for a unique Men's Basketball tipoff between the two Worcester schools. This was the first game played in the Division lll Men's Basketball 2022-23 season. With pregame warmups were underway, it was clear to see that the players and fans from both teams were excited about the return of this unique opportunity that has been on pause the last few years. For many at the court, this game harkens back to their elementary school days, when sleepovers would occur every weekend and it was not uncommon for these students to sneak outside at midnight to scrimmage each other under the house lights. Under these house lights, Worcester State brought the Engineers down to the final seconds before a late layup brought WPI a 73-71 victory in the early morning.
As the game got underway, both teams were slow to find their shooting as WPI led 4-2 with four minutes already gone in the game. As the minutes passed, both teams began to warmup and find their shooting form. The game went back and forth and remained tied halfway through the first half. Aidan Callahan (Rowley, MA) nailed a couple of 3's to help his team go on an 8-1 run forcing Worcester State to call a timeout trailing 25-18. Junior Brandon Goris (Bronx, NY) was determined to keep Worcester State in the game with a big layup and two assists after coming out of the timeout. First year Aaron Nkruma (Worcester, MA) finished the first half with 16 points in his first collegiate appearance and was able to tie the contest 30-30 as he slammed down a thundering dunk that sent the blued-out Lancer Nation crowd into a frenzy. After a defensive stop, Goris was able to give the Lancers the lead 32-30. Just before the first half was set to expire, junior Sam Dion (Barre, MA) was able to hit a short jump shot with 5 seconds left to provide Worcester State a 36-34 half-time lead heading into the break.
The score remained 36-34 as the teams came out of half-time. John Adams (Douglas, MA) was able to convert on an and 1 breakaway layup to provide WPI a 43-39 advantage. After a Worcester State timeout, that saw them down 5 points, Nkuma hit his first career 3 to cut the WPI lead down to 2. Worcester State's shooting went cold in the first 12 minutes of the second half as WPI pushed their lead to as large as 10 points. After a clutch 3 cut the deficit in half, Worcester State was able to cut the lead further, bringing it down to one possession by crashing the boards with an offensive rebound put back. With 1:48 remaining, graduate student Erik Bjorn (Holden, MA) made a great cut to the basket to cut the lead to 1. With 40.6 remaining, Dion was able to give the Lancers a 71-70 lead. On the next possession, WPI ran a well-designed inbounds play to get Adams a layup with 21.6 seconds remaining. The Lancers had one final opportunity to tie the game, after making the first of a one-in-one free throw. The intentional miss on the second was rebounded by WPI to expire the clock. Worcester fell in a final 73-71 to the No. 8 ranked WPI to kick off their season in impressive fashion.
Nkrumah (Worcester, MA) totaled 16 of his team-best 19 points in the first half for Worcester State while Dion amassed 13 of his 15 points after intermission. Bjorn posted a double-double, acquiring 10 points and 10 rebounds and senior Tayjaun McKenzie (Boston, MA) tallied 10 points.
For the game WPI connected on 41.7% (10-of-24) of 3-pointers and outscored the Lancers 13-2 on fast break points. WSU shot over 50% (50.9%) from the floor and saw its reserves outscore the Engineer bench 18-5.
Worcester State (0-1) is back in action Nov. 11 as they take on Hunter in the Wheaton Tip-off at 5pm. WPI (1-0) will be home against Rutgers-Newark on Nov. 12 at 2pm.