TROY, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team began Liberty League play with a big win on Friday night, as they defeated the St. Lawrence Saints by a final score of 71-44 at ECAV Arena. The win marks RPI's second straight win, moving them to a 3-3 overall record while St. Lawrence falls to 3-3 and 0-1 in Liberty League action.

The Engineers wasted no time getting a big lead, using sharp shooting to open up a 25-5 lead less than halfway into the first half. RPI hit eight three pointers in the opening half (47.1 percent), while doubling up the Saints on field goals (14-7). Thanks to a Jonny Angbazo jumper in the paint minutes later at the 3:59 mark to go in the first half, the Engineers lead ballooned to 26 points - their largest of the half - before they closed the the opening frame leading 41-21.

Despite cooling off just a touch int he second half, RPI held the Saints to just two three-point makes in the second half as the Engineers found their groove from the inside to push their lead to as many as 32 points. Leading 65-33 after an Angbazo triple with 6:57 to play in the game, the Engineers finished it off the game down the stretch for the 27-point victory.

Angbazo led all scorers with 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the floor, adding in a team-high three steals. Freshman PJ Scalisi scored all 12 of his points from behind the arc, going 4-for-6 from long distance. Dylan Matchett chipped in with a team-high 10 assists, while Avery Eugster and Pat White each had seven rebounds.

For the Saints, Aidan Macaulay was the only double-digit scorer with 10 points, while Andrew Cowan added six rebounds. As a team, St. Lawrence shot 30 percent from the floor, incluiding 4-for-20 (20 percent) from three-point range.

The Engineers return to action tomorrow, Dec. 2 at 4 p.m. when they host the Clarkson Golden Knights.