Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Five players scored in double-figures for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team in a 105-75 victory over the College of St. Joseph (Vt.), this evening in the opening round of the Tri-State Shootout, at East Campus Arena. With the win, the Engineers improve to 3-3 overall, while the Fighting Saints move to 2-6.

RPI advances the tournament's championship game, where it will face MCLA at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. St. Joseph faces Southern Vermont in the consolation game at 1pm.

Rensselaer broke open a tight game early in the second half, after the visitors took a 50-49 lead, 1:21 into the stanza. Eighteen seconds later Engineers' senior captain Brendan Farley (Burlington, VT/Burlington) drilled a three-pointer to give RPI the lead for good. That basket sparked an 11-0 run that saw RPI open up a 60-50 advantage. Senior Cedric White (Rutland, VT/Rutland Senior) capped the spurt with a lay-up.

The two teams traded baskets until the 8:57 mark, when Farley and freshman Tyler Gendron (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack) hit back-to-back triples to push the Engineers' cushion to 15 points (74-59).

Sophomore Jarrett Boeglin (Lexington, MA/Lexington) cleaned up a miss by junior Reggie Colas (Miami, FL/Belen Jesuit) to give the hosts an 80-61 lead with 7:45 to play.

RPI continued its hot shooting as the second half progressed. Consecutive baskets by senior Erik Hatton (Atkinson, NH/Timberlane Regional), junior Nick Keefe (Rensselaer, NY/Columbia) and White extended the advantage to 97-73 with 3:26 remaining.

A dunk by St. Joseph junior Josh Otway (Dallas, TX) ended the 9-0 run, but the Engineers then ran off the final eight points of the game.

Martin (Cohasset, MA/Cohasset) finished with a team-high 13 points, 12 points and two blocks. Farley, who also 13 points, added four boards. Keefe, who was 5 for 8 from the floor ended the night with 12 points, while White and Gendron and 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Leading the Saints was junior Ramel Anderson (Roosevelt, NY), who netted a game-high 22 points. Freshman Casey Hall (Albany, NY) added 19 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Dre Anderson (Fort Worth, TX) had 16 points.

The Engineers are back in action this Sunday, when they host Berkeley College (4pm) at East Campus Arena. Sage hosts Bard next Tuesday (8pm).