SALEM, Mass. – A furious second half rally came up just short for host Salem State, as the MIT men's basketball team held on for a 73-68 non-conference victory on Tuesday night at Twohig Gymnasium.

The Engineers led by as many as 17 points in the second half, only to see the Vikings erase the deficit and take the lead with just under a minute to play. However, five MIT free throws over the final 41 seconds of regulation made all the difference for MIT.

THE BASICS:

• Score: MIT 73, Salem St 68 
• Records: MIT 3-1 Overall, Salem St 2-2 Overall 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Michael Zhang scored 19 first half points off the MIT bench, shooting 5-of-7 from three-point range, to help the Engineers take a 43-29 halftime lead. 
• Zhang checked into the game for the first time at 13:26 of the first with MIT leading 12-7 following a Wyatt Mowery layup at 13:55.  
• It didn't take long for Zhang to get going as he knocked down back-to-back threes at 11:44 and 10:31 to help MIT take a 20-13 lead. 
• Zhang's final three triples of the half helped put MIT ahead by 14, as he canned a three at 4:53 before hitting threes on back-to-back possessions at 4:14 and 3:39 of the first. He helped maintain the 14-point lead with a layup at the end of the first half that sent MIT to the locker room with a 43-29 lead. 
• Isaac Dobie added 12 points in the opening half for MIT on the way to a game-high 23 points.
• MIT built a 17-point lead early in the second half, with a Rome Delgado-Gonzalez layup-and-one and a Jackson Weiland three giving the Engineers a 49-32 lead at the 18:43 mark. However, from that point forward, the second half belonged to Salem State.  
• An 8-2 Salem State run cut the deficit to single digits when Raheim Orleans dropped in a layup to make the score 51-42 in favor of MIT at 13:09. 
• The Vikings continued to chip away at the lead over the next seven minutes of play, pulling within a basket following a Jamel Walker layup that made the score 59-57 with 6:04 left to play.
• Salem State rallied all the way back with 59 seconds left in the game when a jumper from Ali Barry put the hosts up 68-67. 
• Following an MIT timeout, Dobie was fouled on the ensuing MIT possession. The junior knocked down both free throws to give the lead back to the Engineers, 69-68.  
• Barry missed a jumper on the following Salem State possession before Delgado-Gonzalez snagged the rebound, and Weiland knocked down two more free throws for MIT.  
• A missed Salem State three-pointer landed in the hands of Delgado-Gonzalez, as the senior pulled down his game-leading thirteenth board of the game inside the final ten seconds of the game. He then knocked down a pair of free throws to close out the win.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Delgado-Gonzalez finished with his second straight double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. 
• Dobie was one rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 23 points and collecting nine boards.  
• Merlin Gogolin had a team-high four assists for MIT.  
• The Engineers finished 19-of-51 (37.3%) from the field, including a 10-of-21 (47.6%) clip from beyond the arc while holding Salem State to just 27.6% (8-of-29) from distance. 

UP NEXT:

• MIT will play at Framingham State on Thursday evening at 7:00 PM.  
• The game was originally scheduled to be played at MIT but was moved in support of MIT hosting the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship. 

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