THE BASICS:

- Score: MIT 84, UMass Boston 61

- Records: MIT (3-2); UMass Boston (3-2)

- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)

- The Lead: On Tuesday night, the MIT men's basketball team jumped out to an 11-0 lead over the first 2:44 to take control as the Engineers defeated visiting UMass Boston by an 84-61 final in non-conference play at Rockwell Cage.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- The Engineers came out firing as the hosts seized an 11-0 lead following a three-pointer from sophomore Dakota Pierce (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) with 17:44 left in the period. MIT led 18-2 with 14:12 on the clock and held the Beacons without a field goal over the first 6:54 until Dan Powers knocked down a three-pointer for the visitors.

- MIT led by double figures over the remainder of the half and by as many as 18 at 34-16 with 3:34 left before halftime. The Engineers took the 18-point lead on a three from junior Spencer Rust (Alamo, Calif.) as MIT connected on six three-pointers in the first half. In the final moments of the period, the Beacons pulled within 11 at 37-26 and were in position to cut the lead down to single digits before the Engineers ended the period on a quick 5-0 run for the 42-26 halftime lead.

- In the second half, MIT built the lead to as many as 29 at 58-29 as sophomore Samuel Bockman (Oceanside, Calif.) threw down a dunk off a pass from Pierce with 14:14 remaining in the game. Both teams shot 50 percent from the field in the second half as the Engineers led by at least 18 the rest of the way, en route to the 23-point victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Bockman led the Engineers with a 23-point effort off the bench, including six assists, while senior Tim Butala (Monroe, Calif.) chipped in with a 19-point effort. Sophomore AJ Jurko (Weston, Fla.) posted 15 points and a team-leading four steals, while freshman Nacho Nwana (White Plains, N.Y.) was the team's top rebounder with nine boards and four assists in his first career start.

- The Beacons were led by a 17-point effort from Sam Freeman, while Powers finished with 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting to go along with a team-leading nine rebounds.

- MIT held a 41-36 rebounding advantage and posted 20 assists on 31 made field goals while also forcing 18 UMass Boston turnovers. The Engineers also held the Beacons to 38.2 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent shooting from three-point land. On offense, MIT finished the game with a 48.4 field goal percentage overall.

UP NEXT:

- MIT is back in action on Thursday, December 1st as the Engineers travel to Salem State for a 7 p.m. non-conference tipoff at the Twohig Gymnasium.

STAY CONNECTED:

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