Coleman drained a three-pointer with 1:21 left in overtime to give WPI an 84-81 lead before sophomore guard Amigo Paniagua converted a pair of three throws to pull UMass Boston to within 84-83 with 59 seconds to play. The Beacons defense forced a missed shot as the shot clock wound down for the Engineers with 31 seconds left, but UMB couldn’t hang onto it and WPI retained possession as Brett Dickson was fouled with 21 seconds left and subsequently made one of two free throws with the second coming off the iron and into the Beacons’ possession, but again they couldn’t hang on and it went out of bounds and back to the Engineers with an 85-83 lead. WPI’s Ryan Cain was fouled with 12 ticks remaining and made the first of two free throws, but missed the second with UMass Boston getting the rebound only to lose it out of bounds for the third straight time. Ryan Flynn was then fouled on the inbounds pass with five seconds remaining and made the second of two free throws to give the Engineers a two-possession lead at 87-83, where it would stay for the final.
WPI owned a 41-31 halftime lead and led 49-35 with 16:17 showing in the second half, before the Beacons went on a 17-5 run to cut the deficit to 54-52 with 9:35 to play in the second half. The Engineers maintained their lead at 63-59 with 5:22 to go in the second stanza, but Paniagua ripped off seven unanswered points for UMass Boston to give it a 66-63 margin with 3:18 left in the half. The Beacons kept their lead at 68-65 with 2:59 showing, but Dickson made a lay-up and then converted a free throw to complete the three-point play for the Engineers and tie the tilt at 68-68 with 1:55 to go in the period. Cain later made a pair of free throws with 21 seconds to play in the half for WPI, but junior swingman Tony Barros buried a trey from the right corner to pull UMB even at 73-all and send the game into overtime as the Engineers failed to score on their final possession.
WPI controlled the entire first half with UMass Boston getting as close as 10-7 with 14:45 to go in the first half, but the Engineers reeled off eight straight points to take an 18-7 lead with 12:14 to play in the initial period and led by as many as 15 points the rest of the half, while shooting 53.6% (15-28) for the period.
Paniagua led the Beacons with 29 points on 12-18 from the floor and added 10 boards for the double-double to go with two steals and a pair of assists. Barros also posted a double-double with 23 points, on 8-15 from the floor, including five three-pointers, and 11 rebounds, in addition to three steals, two assists and two blocks. Senior forward James L. Hall also contributed with 12 points, four rebounds, six assists and a steal and sophomore point guard A.J. Titus led all playmakers with a career-high 10 assists and added five points, three steals and a block.
Coleman was 9-15 from the floor for WPI and grabbed five rebounds and made two steals. Cain ended the night with 24 points on 9-15 from the field in addition to four assists and three boards, while Dickson chipped in with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
UMass Boston will be in action again on Thursday, February 2 when it hosts Tufts University at 7:00 p.m. in the Clark Athletic Center., while the Engineers travel to Cambridge, MA on Saturday, February 4 to take on MIT at 2:00 p.m.
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Newspaper Box Score WPI vs UMass Boston 1/31/06 7:00 p.m. at Boston, MA - Clark Athletic Center At Boston, MA - Clark Athletic Center WPI 87, UMASS BOSTON 83 WPI (18-1) Antoine Coleman 9-15 10-11 31; Ryan Cain 9-15 4-5 24; Brett Dickson 5-6 2-3 13; Ryan Flynn 3-9 1-4 10; James Marois 3-12 0-0 9; Ryan Bourque 0-2 0-0 0; Brian Steele 0-2 0-0 0; Sean Ivey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 17-23 87. UMASS BOSTON (12-7) Amigo Paniagua 12-18 5-7 29; Tony Barros 8-15 2-3 23; James L. Hall 5-10 0-1 12; Rodney Bennett 4-10 0-0 8; A.J. Titus 2-6 0-0 5; Mark Doran 2-6 0-0 4; Charles Yuan 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 34-68 7-11 83. WPI........................... 41 32 14 - 87 UMass Boston.................. 31 42 10 - 83 3-point goals-WPI 12-23 (Antoine Coleman 3-5; Ryan Flynn 3-7; James Marois 3-5; Ryan Cain 2-3; Brett Dickson 1-2; Brian Steele 0-1), UMass Boston 8-16 (Tony Barros 5-9; James L. Hall 2-4; A.J. Titus 1-1; Mark Doran 0-1; Amigo Paniagua 0-1). Fouled out--WPI-None, UMass Boston-A.J. Titus. Rebounds-WPI 29 (Antoine Coleman 5; Brett Dickson 5), UMass Boston 42 (Tony Barros 11). Assists-WPI 23 (Ryan Flynn 5), UMass Boston 26 (A.J. Titus 10). Total fouls-WPI 10, UMass Boston 19. A-150