Milwaukee – Despite a strong run down the stretch from MSOE’s outside attack, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) capitalized at the free throw line and pulled off a 69-64 victory in the championship game of the first-ever Raider Engineers Classic on Sunday at the MSOE Kern Center Arena.
The Red Hawks were 15-of-17 at the free throw line, while MSOE made just 2 of 6 charity attempts for the game.
With four minutes remaining, RPI held a 62-52 advantage. But the Raiders’ Robert Verdun hit three consecutive three-pointers to cut the Red Hawks’ lead to 62-61 with 2:05 left in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, they missed a few point-blank buckets in the final two minutes as the Red Hawks held them off the rest of the way.
RPI’s John Van Schaick, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, was 4-of-4 from the free throw line and hit a key three-pointer during the final two minutes. Van Schaick scored 14 points and teammate Paris Moore had 21.
Scott Murphy led the Raiders with 21 points and Verdun scored 12, with 4-of-8 shooting from three-point land. MSOE’s Jeff Mikos dished out a game-high 13 assists and added four steals. RPI’s Tom Schneider had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
In the consolation game played prior to the title game, Polytechnic defeated California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 62-47.
Van Schaick averaged 17.5 points per game for the classic to earn his MVP award. MSOE’s Mikos and Jorone Taylor-Lewis each joined the Engineers Classic all-tournament team. Mikos averaged 7.0 points, 7.5 assists and 4.5 steals during his two games. Taylor-Lewis averaged 9.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the classic.
Also making the all-tournament squad was RPI’s Moore, who averaged 16.5 points and 5.0 rebounds. Polytechnic’s Aboubakar Bamba was on the all-tournament team with 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Rounding off the all-tournament squad was Caltech’s Jordan Carlson, averaging 13.5 points and 1.5 blocks in the classic.