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Bears men's basketball falls to WPI in first round of Coughlin Tourney, 86-71

Posted 11/17/18

WORCESTER, MASS.—Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2-0) defeated the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-1) 86-71 in the first round of WPI's Ted Coughlin Tournament on Friday night. Senior guards …

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Bears men's basketball falls to WPI in first round of Coughlin Tourney, 86-71

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WORCESTER, MASS.—Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2-0) defeated the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-1) 86-71 in the first round of WPI's Ted Coughlin Tournament on Friday night. Senior guards Dante Langley (Schuylerville, N.Y./Schuylerville) and Nosa Onabor (Brooklyn, N.Y./Northside Charter) each led the Bears with 14 points. Senior forward Serigne Kane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Prep) scored 13 points and junior guard Jayquan Thomas (Hollis, N.Y./Richmond Hill) added 12.

Potsdam played catch up much of the first half, but never allowed the Engineers to pull away. WPI led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the Bears closed the gap to seven, 41-34, at the half. Kane scored all 13 of his points in the opening 20 minutes, going 4-for-5 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Onabor and Thomas had seven and six points, respectively. Potsdam posted a 43.5 field goal percentage in the first half, but the Engineers shot a steady 48.5 percent. Reid Walker led WPI with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting and Jake Needleman added seven, including two 3-pointers.

The Engineers slowly extended their lead over the second half, posting a scorching 64 percent shooting percentage. Walker and Needleman matched their first half scoring with 10 and seven point apiece, but Garrett Stephenson and Jake Wisniewski also struck for eight and seven points. Langley led the Bears with 10 points, while Onabor had seven and Thomas had six.

Walker finished with a game-high 20 points along with eight rebounds. Needleman totaled 14 and Stephenson chipped in 12 and a contest-best eight boards. The Engineers shot 55 percent from the floor.

The Bears will now face Eastern Connecticut State tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the consolation game.