Courtesy of UMass-Boston Sports Information
BOSTON, Mass. - Sophomore forward Noel
Hollingsworth notched a double-double with a game-high 23 points
and 13 rebounds to lead the MIT men's basketball team over host
University of Massachusetts Boston, 74-54, in a non-conference
match-up this evening at the Clark Athletic Center Tuesday night.
The win improves the Engineers to a perfect 9-0, while the loss
drops the Beacons to 3-5.
MIT held a 42-31 rebounding advantage and was able to capitalize,
scoring 17 second chance points on the night.
With 13:09 remaining in the first half, two Hollingsworth
free-throws broke a 14-14 tie and put the Engineers ahead by two,
16-14. From that point on, the visitors would not give up the lead
the remainder of the night.
UMass Boston kept the game close throughout most of the first half
and had a chance to cut MIT's lead to one with junior forward Ernst
Jean at the line for two freebies. Jean converted one of two from
the charity stripe to make it a 27-25 game with 3:09 to play in the
half. The Engineers would close the stanza on a 9-2 run fueled by
four points from Hollingsworth to give MIT the 36-27 halftime
cushion.
Four minutes into the second half, a jumper by sophomore swingman
Kyle King pulled the Beacons within six points, making it a 40-34
game, but the Engineers responded with an 11-0 run fueled by three
consecutive treys by junior guard Eric Zuk, senior forward Billy
Johnson and sophomore guard Billy Bender to increase their lead to
51-34 with 13:20 to play.
With just under 10 minutes left in regulation and trailing by 21
points, UMass Boston showed life when it went on an 8-0 run to cut
the MIT lead to 57-44 with 8:33 remaining. During the jolt the
Beacons got back-to-back trifectas from junior guard Mo Johnson but
MIT answered with an 8-0 run of its own to seal the victory.
For the Engineers, Bender played well coming off the bench scoring
12 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
Freshman forward Will Tashman contributed with 10 points on 5-6
shooting in the win.
Johnson led the Beacons in scoring with 16 points while King
chipped in with 11 points. Junior forward Pat Joseph contributed
with 10 points, to go along with eight rebounds and three steals
and freshman point guard Michael Mitchell Jr. chipped in with a
game-high nine assists.
Both teams will be back in action this Thursday, December 10.
The Beacons host Lesley University at 7:00 p.m. while MIT welcomes
Salem State College for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
