Box Score BENNINGTON, Vt. – Junior Redon Qello scored a team-high 20 points to lead the Renssealer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team to a 98-96 victory over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), this evening in the opening round of the Tri-State Shootout. With the win, the Engineers improve to 2-3 on the year, while the Trailblazers drop to 1-5.

RPI led by as many as 10 points (13-3) in the first three minutes of the game, and held onto the lead for much of the opening half. The Trailblazers trimmed the Engineers' advantage to two (32-30) before tying things up with 6:44 left in the half on a basket by Tyriq Rochester (Orange, MA/Mahar), who finished with game-best 21 points.

The MCLA lead grew to six (45-39) with just over two minutes to play in the opening frame, but the Trailblazers had to settle for a five-point edge (49-44) at halftime.

Rensselaer turned the game around in the second half, thanks in part to a 33-21 advantage in bench scoring in the stanza. RPI lead grew to eight points (69-61) with 13 minutes to go in regulation on a Qello (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) lay-in.

Midway through the second half, junior Brendan Farley (Burlington, VT/Burlington) hit a big three-pointer that extended the Engineers' lead to 76-69. MCLA had an answer to each RPI basket, as the lead never grew to more than six the rest of the way.

Leading by five (97-92) with under a minute to go, a pair of turnovers nearly proved costly to the Engineers, but a pair of free throws by junior Jamie Zajac (Merrimack, NH/Bishop Guertin) and another by senior Matt Pooley (Middletown, NY/Chapel Field Christian School) were just enough to secure the win.

The Engineers advance to the tournament championship game tomorrow afternoon (4pm), where they will face the winner of the Southern Vermont/St. Joseph's (Vt.) match-up.