Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – An 11-0 run midway through the second half turned a seven-point lead into an 18-point bulge and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s basketball team went on to a 78-57 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in a non-league game. Rensselaer, which shot 58.3% in the contest, including 64.3% in the second half, improves to 6-2. Wentworth falls to 3-5.

RPI held a seven-point lead at halftime (38-31) but the visiting Leopards pulled to within four points (42-38) at 16:39 of the second frame. After the teams traded several baskets, the homestanding Red Hawks made their run, led by three baskets from sophomore forward Graham Gordon (Mt. Vernon, NY/Iona Prep), to take command. Rensselaer increased its lead to as many as 23 points on its way to the sixth win in its last eight games.

Four players reached double digits in scoring for RPI, led by senior guard Neal Wesson (Portsmouth, RI/Portsmouth), who had 18 points. He also had four rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots. Junior Sam Simmons (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) added 16 points and six rebounds, while Gordon and senior Clay Hadley (LaGrange, IL/Lyons Township) had ten points apiece. Gordon, who made 5 of 7 shots, also had five rebounds, while Hadley had four rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block.

Wentworth was led by junior guard Sherrad Prezzie-Blue (Norwalk, CT/McMahon), who had a game-high 22 points on 10 of 16 shooting. Senior forward Bryan Gaine (Braintree, MA/Braintree) added seven points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Rensselaer is idle until January 3 when it hosts Stevens Tech. at 7pm. Wentworth is back in action on January 5 against FDU-Florham in the Comcast Marymount Challenge at Marymount University (2pm).