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TROY, N.Y. – Senior guard Matthew Pooley netted a team-high 17 points to lead the Rensselaer men's basketball team to an, 88-72, victory over Cooper Union, in its home-opener at East Campus Arena. With the win, the Engineers open the season at 1-0, while the Hawks move to 0-1.

Back-to-back three-pointers from junior Cedric White (Rutland, VT/Rutland Senior) and sophomore# Nate Fiala# (Willoughby, OH/Gilmour Academy) gave Rensselaer an early 10-6 lead, less than four minutes into the contest. The Hawks kept things close, as baskets by junior Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy (T'bilisi, Georgia/Hewlett) and Charles Canepa (Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem East) brought visitors to within two (14-12) with 13:42 to play in the first half.

RPI junior Redon Qello (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) drilled a three with 11:09 left in the opening stanza for a 19-12 advantage, but Cooper Union fought back immediately, pulling even at 19-19 midway through the half.

A pair of free-throws from junior Dan Martin (Cohasset, MA/Cohasset) helped extend the Engineers' lead to 28-20, before threes by Fiala and Pooley (Middletown, NY/Chapel Field Christian School) kept the Hawks at bay as the first half wound to a close.

The Engineers then scored the last two buckets of the half to take a 44-32 lead at the intermission, despite shooting just 36.2% (17 for 47) from the floor, including 24.0% from three-point range (6 for 25).

Pooley opened the second half with a lay-up to put RPI up 14 (46-32). Two straight hoops from Qello and White five minutes into the second gave the Engineers a 15-point edge at 54-39.

Junior guard Jamie Zajac (Merrimack, NH/Timberlane Regional) hit one of two foul shots with 12:04 remaining the game to keep the lead at 15 (62-47). Classmate Brendan Farley (Burlington, MA/Burlington) then answered a Yesilevskiy three with one of his own to maintain the double-digit advantage.

Cooper Union junior Demetres Ingilis (Astoria, NY/Bronx High School of Science) hit a triple, which was followed by a lay-in by senior James Collins (Brooklyn, NY/Regis) to bring the visitors to within eight (70-62), but Rensselaer came right back with a three-pointer from junior Erik Hatton (Alkinson, NH/Timberlane Regional).

RPI was able to hold on for the win, behind Pooley's 17 points on 7 of 16 shooting. Zajac added 13 points and four assists, while Martin chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Yesilevskiy notched a game-high 23 points, while Collins put up a double-double scoring 20 points with 17 boards.

The Engineers return to action on Saturday, when they visit 10th-ranked MIT for a 2pm tip-off.