Game One: No. 4 Emerson 73, No. 1 WPI 93 – Final | Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass.-  -- Aidan Callahan topped five WPI players in double figure scoring as the top-seeded Engineers rallied from a 15-point first half deficit to topple fourth-seeded Emerson 93-73 in a NEWMAC Men’s Basketball semifinal contest played Thursday evening in Harrington Auditorium.

The Engineers, ranked 14th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, improve to 24-2 on the season.  WPI will host second-seeded Clark in Saturday’s championship game at 2pm.  Emerson concluded its season with a 13-14 record.
 
WPI struck first as Callahan floated in a smooth jumper, but the Lions roared back when Trevor Arico pulled up for a mid-range shot with 18:25 on the clock, igniting an early 14-0 run. Linus Helmhold kept the momentum rolling with a three-pointer and a strong finish at the rim, while Guillermo Gasset Ruiz chipped in with a pair of field goals, pushing the Lions ahead 14-2 with 14:11 left in the first half.
 
The Engineers found a spark when Callahan knocked down both free throws, followed by a three from J.R. Newman on the next possession. Asher Gardiner powered inside for back-to-back layups, but Jack Bleier  beat the shot clock with a clutch three-pointer to cut the deficit to 18-10 in favor of Emerson with 11:19 left in the half. The Lions responded as Giulio Volonte added a step-back jumper and a layup, while Arico cut through the defense for a driving layup. Newman answered with a pull-up jumper for the hosts, but the visitors remained in control, leading 24-12 with under 10 minutes to play in the first half.
 
Nathan Bledsoe and Joe Pebley ignited a surge for the Engineers.  Bledsoe did it offensively with a strong layup, then followed up with a deep three-pointer to kickstart a 10-0 run while Pebley, forced into action due to WPI frontcourt foul trouble, played excellent interior defense, registering a +12 plus/minus in six first half minutes of action.  Newman and Tim Reidy each knocked down turnaround jumpers, and Bledsoe capped off the rally with another long-range triple, cutting the deficit to 29-24 as WPI clawed back into the game.
 
The Crimson and Gray continued to chip away at the deficit, pulling within three after a strong driving layup from Callahan. Bledsoe kept the momentum rolling, drilling another clutch three-pointer to knot the game at 35-35, which was the first tie since the early minutes. Just before the break, Emerson regained the edge as Volonte powered in a layup with two seconds on the clock, sending the Lions into halftime with a narrow 37-35 lead.
 
In the first half, Emerson held a 21-12 advantage in rebounds and 22-6 advantage of points in the paint. Bledsoe led the Engineers with 13 points including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Newman added nine points while Callahan tacked on six points and three assists. For the Lions, Helmhold and Arico each contributed nine points, with Helmhold grabbing seven rebounds and two assists. Gardiner and Volonte each tallied six points with Gardiner seeing 3-of-3 shooting from field goal range.
 
To open the second half, Callahan drilled a deep three to give the Engineers the lead. However, Lucas Brenner  answered right back with a triple of his own for Emerson, only for Newman to bank in another three on the next possession, putting WPI ahead 41-40 with 18:08 to play. Callahan stayed hot, rattling off seven straight points with a three-pointer and back-to-back layups, but Emerson stayed within reach as Gasset Ruiz added a layup and Brenner sank both free throws. With 15:56 remaining, WPI held a slim 48-45 advantage.
 
Justin Molen gave WPI a boost, knocking down a smooth three-pointer and adding a layup, but Helmhold kept Emerson in the mix with a powerful dunk in between Molen’s buckets. With 14:43 left, WPI held a 53-47 edge. Jacob Armant  went 3-for-4 at the free throw line, but the Engineers kept the pressure on as Bleier drained another three and Newman drove in for a tough layup, extending WPI’s lead to 58-50 with 13:53 to play.
 
After a back-and-forth stretch, Armant knocked down a pull-up trey to trim Emerson’s deficit to seven, but the hosts responded with back-to-back field goals from Bleier and Callahan, extending their lead to 66-55 with 9:14 remaining. Arico answered with a three-pointer to pull the Lions back within single digits, but Callahan responded with a smooth floating jump shot to make it 68-58 with 6:56 to go. Emerson then surged with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to four, 70-66, with 4:28 to play. The run was sparked by Hank Gramlich, who hit 3-of-4 free throws, and capped off by a clutch three from Volonte.
 
Reidy drained a three-pointer, and the Engineers capitalized with 7-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line, along with layups from Callahan and Bleier, fueling a late 14-0 run that pushed WPI’s lead to 18 at 84-66 with 1:12 remaining. Emerson fought back with a turnaround shot from Armant and a three-pointer from Arico, but it wasn't enough as WPI sealed the game with a 93-73 victory.
 
Callahan led the Engineers with 26 points, seven assists and a block. Bledsoe tied his career-high of 16 points off 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range and five rebounds, while Bleier contributed a career-high 15 points. Newman tacked on 14 points and three rebounds and Reidy added 11 points, five boards and two steals. For the Lions, Arico tallied 17 points and two assists. Helmhold notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and added four assists. Armant registered 11 points, three boards, two assists and a steal.
 
WPI shot 51.7% (30-of-58) of field goals while the Lions made 26-of-63 (41.3%) on the game. The Engineers saw a 19-4 edge in points off turnovers while the Lions held a 42-28 advantage in rebounds.

Game Two: No.6 Coast Guard vs. No. 2 Clark – Final | Box Score 

WORCESTER, Mass. – The No. 2 Clark University men's basketball team (17-9), guided by a strong offensive second half pulled away from No. 6 Coast Guard (11-16) and came away with a convincing 71-53 win over the Bears on Thursday night from the Kneller Gymnasium.

The Cougars are now 3-1 all-time in the NEWMAC Tournament against Coast Guard and improve to 7-3 overall in the Semifinals. Clark will now appear in their seventh NEWMAC Championship game in program history when they travel to No. 1 WPI on Saturday for a contest at 2:00 p.m. inside Harrington Auditorium.

The two teams opened the game by trading a pair of three-pointers each as sophomore Quentin Pridgen hit two for Clark and Elijah Parent and Ben Yagey hit triples for the Bears before a pair of senior Bruce Saintilus free throws with 16:32 to play in the first half gave the Cougars an 8-6 edge.

After a jumper from Parent, Pridgen and first-year Boluwasefe John combined for the next four points before Coast Guard responded with seven unanswered sparked by a triple from Declan Rooney put the Bears up 15-12.

McArdle ended the Coast Guard run with a layup and after a Parent triple, Clark rattled off seven straight points as graduate student Jordan Richard hit a triple and both first-year Boluwasefe John and Saintilus made shots to give the Cougars a 21-18 edge with 8:46 remaining in the first half.

Luke Farrell and Parent combined for four of the games next six points before Richard's second triple of the half helped push Clark's edge to four before a made layup from John extended the advantage to six at 28-22 with 6:15 to go.

Farrell scored the Bears next four points before John hit a free throw to make it a 31-26 contest, but Coast Guard rattled off five straight points to end the half, capped off by a Parent three-pointer tied the game at 31-31 heading into the locker room.

After a Yagey layup to open the second half, Richard buried a three-pointer and a made layup from McArdle pushed the Clark advantage to 36-34. Rooney netted the next four points of the game before an and-one from John helped spark an 8-0 run as Taylor and McArdle also scored as the Cougars held a 44-38 lead with 11:58 remaining.


The Bears responded with a 7-2 run of their own capped off by a made triple from Rooney before Taylor and Saintilus combined for the next five points of the contest to give Clark a 53-45 edge with 8:52 to play. Parent and Colin Huang combined for Coast Guard's next four points before Saintilus buried a triple and a pair of Taylor free throws helped propel Clark's lead to double-digits at 61-49.

After a pair of Huang free throws, Taylor, Saintilus, and Pridgen all scored to push the advantage to 67-51 with 1:21 to play. Farrell netted Coast Guard's final points of the game and both Saintilus and John each scored before the end of the game as the scarlet and white prevailed 71-53.

The Cougars will compete in the NEWMAC Championship for the second straight season and seventh time in program history when they travel to No. 1 WPI for a contest beginning at 2:00 p.m.

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.