CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Billy Bender had a pair of
clutch three-pointers, one at the end of regulation and one in
overtime, to help lead the MIT men's basketball team to a 78-73 win
over Gordon College in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon
at Rockwell Cage. Noel Hollingsworth led the way for the Engineers
with 28 points and seven rebounds before fouling out late in
regulation. Tech won its eighth straight and is now off to the best
start in program history while Gordon falls to 4-3 with the loss.
With his team trailing by three with just 42 seconds remaining,
Bender took a pass in the corner from Mitchell Kates and drained
the game-tying bucket. After the Fighting Scots were whistled for
an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, Billy Johnson had a
chance to end it in regulation but was unable to knock down the
three-point attempt.
A Greg Walker layup 24 seconds into the overtime gave Gordon a
70-68 lead. The teams traded turnovers before Jimmy Burke nailed
another trifecta to put Tech back on top by one. David Dempsey
missed a pair of free throws on the next possession, setting up
another three-ball from Bender to extend the Crimson and Gray's
lead to four. Kates made a driving layup the next time down the
court to put the game out of reach.
MIT scored the game's first 10 points, capped by a layup from
Kates, over the opening 4:21. A Brady Bajema three-pointer just
over a minute later trimmed the lead to just three. However, the
Engineers responded with a 7-0 run to go back up by double digits.
The Tech lead would grow to as many as 11 with 5:48 to go in the
first but the Scots were able to battle back to within three at the
break, as Bajema scored 10 of their last 11 in the half.
Benjamin Gaskill converted a layup and the foul shot on opening
possession of the second half to even things up at 36. A three by
Aaron Trigg with 7:53 remaining gave Gordon its first lead of the
game, 56-54. The Scots would score eight of their final 12 from the
foul line, including another and-one by Gaskill with 1:18 on the
clock, setting up Bender's heroics.
Kates, 15 points, Burke, 11, and Bender, 13 points, joined
Hollingsworth in double figures. Kates also added five assists
while Bender had six boards. The Engineers shot 46% from behind the
arc, as both Bender and Burke went three-for-five.
Bajema and Trigg each tallied 20 points for the Scots and
Gaskill contributed a double-double of 11points and 10 rebounds.
MIT will be back in action on Tuesday night, traveling to
UMass-Boston for a 7:00 p.m. start. Gordon hosts Wheelock College
on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. as well.
