BOSTON, Mass. – A 15-6 second half run ultimately proved to be the difference in the game as the MIT men's basketball team dropped an 87-73 decision to the Emerson College Lions in conference action on Thursday night at Brown and Plofker Gym in Boston.
MIT used a layup from sophomore
Merlin Gogolin (New York, N.Y.) to cut the deficit to two at 45-43 with 16:28 to play, before Emerson responded with a three on the other end to ignite the run that led to a 60-49 advantage. The Engineers were unable to get closer than six the rest of the way.
Five different Engineers scored in double figures led by junior
Tim Minicozzi (Belmont, Mass.) with 14 points.
THE BASICS:
- Score: Emerson 87, MIT 73
- Records: MIT (8-7 Overall, 2-4 NEWMAC), Emerson (7-7, 2-3 NEWMAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Things were deadlocked at 11 apiece in the early stages of the first half when Emerson used four straight points from Giulio Volonte (Milan, Italy) to embark on an 11-0 run and a 22-11 lead at the 9:54 mark of the opening stanza.
- MIT quickly fought back with a 13-0 run of their own and a jumper from senior Spencer Lin (Menlo Park, Calif.) gave the visitors a 24-22 edge for the time being.
- The two teams traded baskets for much of the final five minutes of the half, but a late 10-2 spurt helped the Lions take a 37-32 advantage into the locker room.
- Gogolin hit a layup, sophomore Michael Zhang (Jacksonville, Fla.) buried a three and Gogolin's afore-mentioned layup helped MIT slice the deficit to two at 45-43 with 16:28 to play.
- Emerson answered with a three on the ensuing possession which sparked the 15-6 run and a 60-49 lead with 10:41 remaining.
- The Engineers would not go down without a fight and cut the lead to six on several different occasions including at 68-62 and 70-64 with less than five minutes to play after five straight points from Minicozzi.
- After MIT cut the deficit to six at 70-64, the Lions scored the next seven points and were able to hold on for the 87-73 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Minicozzi paced the Engineers with his 14 points, while the trio of Gogolin, sophomore Wyatt Mowery (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and junior Parker Spann (Omaha, Neb.) added 12 points apiece.
- Lin added his first double-double of the season and fifth of his career with 10 points and 10 assists to go along with seven rebounds. His 10 assists match a career-high that had previously been set on two occasions, most recently on Jan. 14, 2023 vs. Springfield.
- Jacob Armant (Arlington, Texas) paced Emerson with 22 points and Linus Helmhold (Krefeld, Germany) contributed 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor.
- The Lions shot 54.2% (32-of-59) from the field and MIT checked in at 41.5% (27-of-65).
- Emerson held a slight 38-35 edge on the boards and Spann collected nine to lead the Engineers.
UP NEXT:
- MIT will travel to Clark for a 1:00 tip on Saturday, January 18, while Emerson heads to Wheaton (Mass.) for a 3:00 PM tilt.
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