NORTON, Mass. – The No. 19 Worcester Polytechnic Institute men's basketball team led for only 4:05 of the game, but all that mattered was a three-pointer from graduate student guard Kahleb Downing (Middletown, Conn.) to give the Engineers the winning margin of 80-77 over host Wheaton College (Mass.) this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass. The Engineers, winners of ten straight, improve to 14-1 overall, 6-0 in the NEWMAC. Wheaton falls to 5-11, 0-5 in conference play.

Downing's deep triple came with just 2.8 seconds left in the game to give WPI its only lead of the second half and a complete comeback over a 13-point deficit. 

The Engineers took advantage of 17 offensive rebounds to outscore their hosts, 16-7, in second chance points. Wheaton shot 55.1% (27-49) from the field and was outstanding from the free throw line, connecting on 18 of 21 attempts for an 85.7% clip. The Engineers shot just 41.9% (26-62) from the floor, but made a living from beyond the three-point arc, canning 48.3% (14-29) of their tries.

Junior forward Aaron Williams (Springfield, Mass.) led all scorers with 31 points and added 12 boards for his fourth double-double of the season for Wheaton. Junior guard Alex Carlisle (Saint Johnsbury, Vt.) netted 23 points on 8-13 from the floor to go with three assists and a steal in just 29 minutes of action, while classmate Evan Cook (Dunstable, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a trio of steals.

Downing finished the day with 18 points and six assists for WPI, while Andrew Lufkin (Auburn, NH) had a team-best and career-high 19 points off the bench. John Lowther (Hingham, MA) tallied his first double-double of the season, and third of his career, with 16 points and 10 boards. Colin McNamara (Arlington, MA) filled out the stat sheet with 17 points, seven assists, and three steals.

First year forward Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan) completed a three-point play with a free throw to give the Lyons their largest lead of the game at 62-49 with 11:06 to play in the game. Carlisle, who has been among the nation's top-five scorers for the majority of the season was hit in the face, impairing his vision to keep him out of the game for the final 10:49 with a 62-51 Wheaton advantage.

The Engineers seemed to take advantage of the Lyons' misfortune, chipping away at the home team's lead. WPI closed to within 68-64 following a McNamara free throw with 6:40 remaining, before Wheaton put together a 9-4 burst, fueled by seven points from Williams, to give Wheaton a 77-68 cushion with 2:56 to play. Williams' final lay-up was also the final point of the afternoon for the home Lyons as the Engineers held them scoreless for the final 2:56, while scoring unanswered points to close out the victory.

The opening action was tightly contested with the game knotted at 12-12 eight minutes into play. Wheaton created separation with a 12-3 run that put the Lyons up 24-17 with 8:35 on the first half clock. 

WPI came back to tie at 30-30 on a McNamara three and then went up 33-30 on a trifecta from Lufkin with 4:25 left in the first. From there, it was all Wheaton, however, as the Lyons put together an 11-0 run to close the half, including nine points from Williams to make it 41-33 at the break. 

Wheaton had the hot hand in the first half, shooting 50% from the field and holding WPI to just 39.4%. 

Lowther and McNamara scored early in the second to close the gap to 41-38, but a Carlisle jumper at 14:40 gave Wheaton its largest lead to that point at 52-43. WPI chipped away, but the Lyons extended the advantage to 13 points on a Williams layup to make it 59-46 with 11:44 to play.

Wheaton returns to action on Monday, January 24 when it hosts NEWMAC foe United States Coast Guard Academy at Emerson Gymnasium for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off, while the Engineers host Hamilton College tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.