CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --  Junior Rome Delgado-Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) scored 21 points, including the final four of the game, to push MIT men's basketball past Salve Regina University, 69-66, in a NEWMAC match-up on Saturday afternoon at Rockwell Cage.

Senior Spencer Lin (Menlo Park, Calif.) and sophomore Isaac Dobie (Kitty Hawk, N.C.) each added 15 points for MIT, with Lin assisting on six baskets. Junior Jack McMullen (East Greenwich, R.I.) was Salve Regina's leading scorer with 18 points, including four made three pointers.

THE BASICS:

• Scores: MIT 69, Salve Regina 66
• Records: MIT (9-11 Overall, 3-8 NEWMAC), Salve Regina (7-13 Overall, 4-7 NEWMAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• MIT raced out a 7-2 lead, capped off by a layup from Delgado-Gonzalez. The Engineers held a two possession lead until 17-11 with 13:05 to go in the opening half.
• The Seahawks knotted the contest up at 19 apiece on the back of a three ball from McMullen. From there, the teams tried unsuccessfully to wrestle the lead away from one another, with neither up by more than four until only four minutes remained in the period.
• An 8-0 run featured four points from both McMullen and sophomore Pat Spenard (Rochester, Mass.) to put Salve Regina up 37-29 late in the half. The margin remained at the break with the Seahawks up 43-35.
• After trailing 48-40, MIT rattled off seven unanswered tallies to make it a single point game with 13:16 on the clock. Delgado-Gonzalez, Lin and Dobie all scored during the stretch. MIT went on to reclaim the lead, 52-51, on a Lin triple at the 11:38 mark.
• The lead once again traded hands back and forth through the final minutes before a Delgado-Gonzalez layup put MIT up 67-66 with only 49 seconds remaining in the contest.
• A McMullen miss led to Delgado-Gonzalez free throws. The junior went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to make it a three-point game. Salve Regina was unable to convert a late three chance, giving MIT its third NEWMAC victory of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• MIT shot 27-for-55 (49.1%) as team and knocked down 11-of-14 free throws (78.6%).
• Junior Parker Spann (Omaha, Neb.) tallied 12 points with a team-best nine rebounds for the Engineers.
• Dobie snatched up four steals in the contest.
• Spenard topped all individuals with 11 boards for Salve Regina.

UP NEXT:

• The Engineers head out to Babson College for a 7:00 PM game on Wednesday, February 5. The Seahawks will host Springfield College at 7:30 PM that same night.

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