Courtesy of Clark University Sports Information
Worcester, Mass. - MIT, the nation's No. 9
team, erased a 14-point first half deficit and escaped with a 54-51
win over host Clark in New England Women's and Men's Athletic
Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday
afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.
With the win, the Engineers move to 15-1 overall and more
importantly, 3-0 in league standings while the Cougars fall to 10-6
overall and 1-2 in NEWMAC play.
Clark came out of the gates on fire, grabbing a 17-6 lead less than
ten minutes into the game on the strength of nine early points from
emerging sophomore Mitch Renshaw, who canned a triple to give the
Cougars their double digit advantage.
MIT, meanwhile, started the game 1-for-5 with three turnovers,
before freshman Jimmy Burke dropped in a pair of three-pointers to
get the Engineer offense going.
The Clark lead grew to 14 at 23-9 following an inside hoop from
Jonathan Phillips and fluctuated between ten and 14 for the
next eight minutes and stood at 35-21 with under two minutes
remaining following an offensive rebound and putback from freshman
Marcus Armstrong.
MIT then ran off six straight points - five coming from freshman
Mitchell Kates - to steal momentum going into halftime and make the
score 35-27 at intermission.
Things continued to head south for the Cougars in the opening
moments of the second half as Bill Bender dropped in a
three-pointer to even the score at 40-40 with 15 minutes left and
then Ben Montgomery gave the Engineers the lead at 42-40 at the
11:56 mark on an inside putback.
Clark actually tied the game at 47 all after Jack
Minister picked Burke's pocket and found a streaking Mark
Alexander open for an easy hoop.
The Cougars didn't score over the next three minutes, meanwhile,
MIT ran off six straight points capped by a pair of Burke free
throws.
Alexander found Renshaw underneath for an easy score, making the
game 53-49, and then an Alexander fast break finish off of a missed
Engineer free throw made the score 53-51 with 13 seconds left.
After being fouled, Burke made his first free throw and missed his
second, leaving the door open for overtime, but Alexander's
three-pointer from the right side fell short at the buzzer.
MIT shot 50 percent from the field for the game, including 55
percent in the second half, while Clark went cold, connecting on
just 29 percent (7-for-24) of its attempts in the second
stanza.
Noel Hollingsworth led the Engineer offense with 17 points and six
rebounds, while Kates added 12 points and three boards.
Brian Vayda led Clark with 13 points and six boards. Both Alexander
(12 points) and Renshaw (11 points) joined him in double figures
for the Cougars.
Clark will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday when they
host crosstown NEWMAC rival WPI in a game that will be televised
live on TV Charter 3. MIT will look to extend its current four-game
win streak on Wednesday when it hosts Springfield.