THE BASICS:
 
- Score: MIT - 88, UMass Dartmouth - 81
 
- Records: MIT (1-0), UMass Dartmouth (0-1)
 
- Location: Dartmouth, Mass. (Tripp Athletic Center)
 
- The Lead: First-year Merlin Gogolin (New York, N.Y.) led the way in his collegiate debut as he scored 18 points to help lead the MIT men's basketball team to an 88-81 season-opening victory on the road against UMass Dartmouth.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

- The Corsairs jumped out to a 12-6 lead on a three from Josh Lopes. First-year Will Bland (Virginia Beach, Va.) helped start an Engineer run that lead to a layup from Gogolin that tied the game at 17 with 8:31 left in the half.
 
- The teams stayed close before a dunk from Gogolin gave MIT its biggest lead of the half at 27-23 but John Marcille drilled a three to make it a one-point game with 4:52 left in the first. MIT ended the half on a 9-2 run to take a 36-28 lead into the break.
 
- Senior Luke Wagner (Austin, Texas) opened the second with a three to extend the MIT led to 39-28, and a three from first-year Michael Zhang (Jacksonville, Fla.) at 15:33 gave the Engineers a 13-point advantage. Lopes got the host to within five with a jumper at the 13-minute mark and then scored five straight points to tie the game at 54 with 10:17 remaining.
 
- Sophomore Tim Minicozzi (Belmont, Mass.) hit a three to put MIT back in the lead but UMass once again got even on a free throw by Isaac Percy at 8:51. Minicozzi hit another three which gave the Engineers the momentum to pull away for the 88-81 win.  
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- The Engineer bench outscored the Corsairs 36-16. MIT shot 53.4% overall, 42.1% from deep, and 78.3% from the charity stripe.  
 
- Bland finished with 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Gogoiln added eight rebounds and three assists to go with his team-high 18 points.
 
- Wagner scored 12 points and grabbed six boards.
 
UP NEXT:

- The Engineers will play their home opener on Friday, November 10 when they welcome Rhode Island College to Rockwell Cage for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
 
STAY CONNECTED:

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