CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Sophomore Merlin Gogolin (New York, N.Y.) scored a team-high 28 points and senior Spencer Lin (Menlo Park, Calif.) added 18 points and five assists as the MIT men's basketball team earned an 83-80 non-conference victory over Salem State University on Tuesday night at Rockwell Cage.
Sophomore Omri Merryman (Lynn, Mass.) dropped in a game-high 34 points for Salem State, as the Vikings nearly erased a 28-point second deficit with a furious rally over the game's final 12 minutes.
THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 83, Salem State 80
- Records: MIT (3-1 Overall), Salem State (1-3Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Engineers never trailed past the opening 2:25 of the contest, jumping out to a 26-point first half lead after outscoring Salem State 34-8 in the first ten minutes of play.
- A 9-0 Salem State run trimmed the early deficit to 17 points at the 6:37 mark, as a jumper by sophomore Roger Vasquez (Everett, Mass.) made the score 34-17.
- MIT would lead by as many as 18 points over the remainder of the first half, eventually taking a 42-21 lead into the locker room after Merryman hit a three-pointer for the Vikings at the 23 second mark.
- The Engineers reestablished their lead through the opening eight minutes of the second half. MIT used a 17-1 run from the 18:38 mark through the 14:51 mark of the second half to take a 61-35 lead. The hosts knocked down four consecutive triples, two from Lin and a pair from sophomore Michael Zhang (Jacksonville, Fla.).
- The MIT lead would eventually reach 28 points after Gogolin knocked down a pair of free throws at 12:45 to make the score 66-38.
- Salem State would go on to outscore MIT 42-17 over the remainder of regulation, trimming the 28-point deficit down to just three in the final seconds of the game.
- An and-one layup from rookie Juan Beltres Diaz (Lowell, Mass.) knocked the league to single digits, 74-65, with 4:21 to play. Beltres Diaz missed the layup but Merryman hit a three-pointer two possessions later to make the score 74-68 with 3:28 on the clock.
- Gogolin finished on an and-one on a slick feed from sophomore Isaac Dobie (Kitty Hawk, N.C.) on the next MIT possession, taking the lead back to nine at 77-68.
- Missed MIT free throws over the final two minutes of regulation left the door open for Salem State. However, Lin hit the final MIT free throw of the game to give the Engineers an 83-77 lead with seven seconds to play. Merryman ended the contest with a triple to trim the lead to three, 83-80, as time ran out on the Vikings comeback.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Gogolin's 28 points were a career-high. He also recorded seven rebounds and two steals for MIT.
- Zhang scored 12 points in 13 minutes for MIT, shooting 3-for-5 from distance and grabbing two rebounds before he fouled out.
- Merryman has now topped 20 points in three of Salem State's four games this season. His 34 points were a career high.
- MIT had a slim advantage on the glass, 41-39. The teams combined for 45 turnovers in the contest, with Salem State racking up 14 steals and the Engineers recording 13.
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