CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 6, 2007 - Springfield College senior forward Damian Farley (Natick, Mass.) scored a team-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists as the Pride edged the MIT Engineers at Rockwell Cage this afternoon in each team's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener.

With the victory, SC's third consecutive overall, the Pride improves to 6-7 on the season after its two wins this past week in the Holiday Inn/Naismith Classic and today's NEWMAC opener. MIT falls to 6-6 overall on its campaign.

SC freshman forward Pat Crean (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) added 16 points for the Pride in the win on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting from three-point land. Crean also added three rebounds and two blocks in his team-best 36 minutes on the floor. Farley and Crean have been a big part of SC's three-game winning streak and 6-7 overall mark, as the two are averaging 11.8 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.

After today's contest was tied at nine apiece with 13:19 remaining in the opening half, the Pride went on a 24-8 run to take a 33-17 halftime lead. SC used balanced scoring in the first stanza to gain the 16-point lead, as the Engineers shot just 33 percent from the floor and connected on just one of their 10 three-point attempts in the first 20 minutes of play.

The second half was a different story, as MIT eventually rallied back to tie the game at 50-50 with 2:01 left. Farley then scored four straight points to give the Pride a 54-50 lead with 1:14 on the board. After junior guard Jamaal Gibbs (Norwalk, Conn.) made a jumper to give SC a 56-50 lead, the Engineers scored six consecutive points of their own to tie the contest with 14 seconds left in regulation. Gibbs was then fouled with just two seconds remaining on a three-point try, as he connected on his second free throw for the one-point win.

The Pride looks to go 2-0 in conference play next week when it hosts WPI on Tuesday evening, January 9th, in a 7:00 p.m. start in Blake Arena.

published: 01/06/2007