Courtesy of Babson College Sports Information
BABSON PARK, Mass. - MIT outscored host Babson
College, 45-19, in the second half, including a 31-6 run to close
the game, to earn a 72-45 victory over the Beavers in a New England
Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball
matchup at Staake Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. With the win,
the Engineers, ranked 15th in the nation in the most recent
D3hoops.com poll, improve to 13-1 overall and 1-0 in the
conference, while Babson drops its second in a row to fall to 5-7
overall and 0-2 in the NEWMAC.
Sophomore Noel Hollingsworth was a monster in the paint for
MIT, scoring 37 points on 17-of-26 shooting, including 20 points on
a 9-of-10 clip in the second half. The 6-foot-9 sophomore also
blocked three shots and dished out three assists. First year Jimmy
Burke added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a 4-for-5 mark
from three-point range, and first-year Mitchell Kates finished a
solid all-around performance with 11 points, five assists, and five
steals. First-year Ben Montgomery was the game's high
rebounder with seven off the bench for the Engineers.
Ten different players scored points for Babson, but no Beavers
reached double figures. First year Russell Braithwaite and
sophomore Marcus Edwards led the way with eight points apiece,
while junior Dana Mauro scored six points. First-year Alex Rudolph
led the Beavers with five rebounds in the loss.
Neither team was able to pull away in a very evenly played first
half, which saw MIT enter the break with a slim 27-26 advantage.
The Engineers then increased their lead to six at 41-35 just over
five minutes into the second half, but Edwards scored four straight
to pull Babson back to within two at 41-39.
From there the contest would be all MIT, which erupted for a 21-2
run over an eight minute stretch to put the game away. After
Hollingsworth scored six unanswered points to give the Engineers
47-39 cushion, first-year Peter Foley hit a jumper in the paint to
cut the Beavers' deficit to six with 10:21 remaining. However,
Babson would not score again until the 3:39 mark, as MIT scored 15
straight to build a commanding 62-41 lead. The Engineers eventually
inflated their advantage to as many as 28 before grabbing the 72-45
win.
With Hollingsworth leading the way, MIT shot an incredible 73.9
percent (17-23) from the field in the second half while also
hitting 81.8 percent (9-11) of their free throw attempts. At the
other end, Babson was held to a 27.3 percent (6-22) clip from the
field.
