The Engineers jumped out to a 10-0 lead and held Utica scoreless for the first 4:09, until Bryant, who was recently named to the Empire 8 All Conference First-Team, got the Pioneers on the board with two free-throws. Utica then went on a 9-0 run behind a Doug Herring (Poughkeepsie, NY) 3-pointer and a Bryant lay-up.
Utica took their first lead of the game on a free-throw by senior captain Justin Cichon (New Hartford, NY) with 8:39 remaining in the first-half. The Pioneers led by as many as six points, but WPI would not back down and junior guard Ryan Cain (Webster, MA) knocked home a 3-point as time expired in the first half. Utica went into the locker rooms at halftime with a 32-29.
Cichon converted a 3-point play 3:14 into the second half to give Utica their first double-digit lead of the game. Ryan Flynn (Hamilton, MA) hit two free-throws for the Engineers to cut the lead to six points, but that was the closest WPI would get as Utica took a 15 point lead after a Brian Collier 3-pointer from the top of the arc.
Utica had three players score in double-digits, including 17 points for Herring on 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Cichon tallied 16 points and grabbed five rebounds, while co-captain Willie Lucas (Brooklyn, NY) scored nine points and grabbed four seven rebounds for the Pioneers.
Cain tallied a team-high 21 points and eight other Engineers put points on the board. Antoine Coleman (Everett,MA), who found himself in foul trouble early on in the first half, scored nine points, while Brian Steele (Whitinsville, MA), who is the reigning WPI Male Athlete of the Week, tallied eight.
WPI, who reached the Sectionals of the NCAA tournament last season, tied a school record for wins in a season with 23, while Utica improves to 23-6.
Utica will face Empire 8 Conference rival St. John Fisher College in the Sweet-16 next Friday at 6 p.m.. Utica has lost three games to the nationally-ranked Cardinals this season, including a 71-64 loss last weekend in a E8 Conference Championship. The site for the next round will be determined by the NCAA tomorrow.
Release Courtesy of Utica Sports Information
Newspaper Box Score Utica vs WPI 3/4/06 7:00pm at Worcester, MA At Worcester, MA UTICA 76, WPI 58 UTICA (23-6) Ray Bryant 11-16 7-8 29; Doug Herring 5-8 4-4 17; Justin Cichon 5-13 6-7 16; Willie Lucas 4-7 1-4 9; Brian Collier 1-2 0-1 3; Shawn Brown 1-2 0-0 2; Kirk Poulson 0-0 0-0 0; Bradley Everett 0-0 0-0 0; Kafele Fleming 0-0 0-0 0; Chris Bitetto 0-0 0-0 0; Dennis Munch 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 27-48 18-25 76. WPI (23-4) Ryan Cain 6-15 8-8 21; Antoine Coleman 4-9 0-0 9; Brian Steele 3-7 0-0 8; Ryan Flynn 0-5 6-9 6; NT Izuchi 2-2 0-0 5; Ryan Bourque 1-2 2-2 4; Brett Dickson 1-2 0-0 2; Kyle Gustafson 1-1 0-0 2; James Marois 0-3 1-4 1; Nathan Griggs 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Prestileo 0-3 0-0 0; Kevin Barrett 0-1 0-0 0; Steve Furber 0-1 0-0 0; Adam Lirette 0-2 0-0 0; Sean Ivey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-54 17-23 58. Utica......................... 32 44 - 76 WPI........................... 29 29 - 58 3-point goals-Utica 4-16 (Doug Herring 3-6; Brian Collier 1-2; Willie Lucas 0-2; Justin Cichon 0-6), WPI 5-18 (Brian Steele 2-4; Antoine Coleman 1-2; Ryan Cain 1-5; NT Izuchi 1-1; James Marois 0-1; Mike Prestileo 0-2; Steve Furber 0-1; Adam Lirette 0-1; Ryan Flynn 0-1). Fouled out--Utica-None, WPI-None. Rebounds-Utica 40 (Ray Bryant 14), WPI 26 (Adam Lirette 6). Assists-Utica 11 (Justin Cichon 5), WPI 6 (James Marois 2). Total fouls-Utica 19, WPI 20. A-750 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championships - Second Round Utica advances to next weekend's Sectionals where it will meet Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher on Friday. The site of the Sectionals will be announced later this weekend.