CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Junior Isaac Dobie scored a game-high 28 points, but the MIT men's basketball team came up just short against NEWMAC rival WPI, dropping a 70-65 final on Saturday afternoon at Rockwell Cage. Dobie finished the contest 10-of-19 from the floor, matching his season-best with six three-pointers in the setback.
THE BASICS:
- Score: WPI 70, MIT 65
- Records: WPI 19-4 overall (12-2 NEWMAC); MIT 6-17 overall (2-12 NEWMAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In a contest that featured 14 lead changes and four tie scores, it was the host Engineers that got out to a nine-point first half lead over their Worcester rivals. Back-to-back threes from Michael Zhang and Wyatt Mowery gave MIT an 18-9 edge at 10:46 of the first half.
- MIT's nine-point first-half lead was the largest for either team in the contest but it quickly evaporated over the next three minutes of play, as a 13-3 WPI run, punctuated by a jumper from Tim Reidy at 7:14, gave the visitors a 22-21 lead that marked WPI's first advantage since the opening minutes of the contest.
- MIT wrestled the lead back on the next possession when Parker Spann got to the rim to make the score 23-22.
- The teams exchanged the lead three times over the course of the final five minutes of the opening half with the last lead belonging to WPI when Justin Molen put back a Nicholas Margetson miss at the buzzer. Molen's putback came as part of an 8-3 WPI run at the end of the half, with MIT's only basket inside the final minute coming on a three from Dobie.
- Leading 33-32 at the half, WPI used a 7-0 run at the start of the second half to build a 40-32 lead at 17:23. Dobie put an end to the run with another three at 17:01, but WPI continued to lead until 13:10 when Rome Delgado-Gonzalez made the first of two free throws for MIT to tie the game at 40-40.
- A Reidy jumper put WPI back out in front, 42-20, on the ensuing WPI possession, but it was Dobie from distance again on the next MIT possession to give the lead back to the hosts, 43-42 at 10:38.
- The score stayed tight over the next four minutes of play with WPI eventually taking a five-point edge, 55-50, at the 6:00 minute mark following a strong of six-straight points from the visitors.
- Trailing by five, Dobie connected from three and Parker Spann made a layup-and-one on the next two MIT possessions to give MIT the lead back, 56-55 at 4:26.
- The 56-55 lead was the final advantage of the game for MIT. WPI took the lead back, 57-56, at 3:38 on a jumper from Margetson. The visitors extended the advantage to three when Nathan Bledsoe made a pair of free throws at 2:57. WPI held MIT without a basket over the next minute before Bledsoe made the WPI lead 61-56 with a layup at 1:50. MIT came up short on its next offensive possession before Margetson pushed the WPI lead to seven, 63-56, with two free throws with 53 seconds to play.
- MIT hit three three-pointers over the final 42 seconds of play, but WPI knocked down all but one of its free throws to hold on for the five-point win, 70-65.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Dobie was 6-of-13 from distance, adding five rebounds for MIT.
- The host Engineers also got 15 points and five boards from Spann before he followed out late in the second half.
- Michael Zhang added ten points and Rome Delgado-Gonzalez had seven points and nine rebounds, playing all 40 minutes.
- Molen finished the contest as the high-scorer for WPI, registering a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
- Four of the five WPI starters finished in double figures, as Reidy was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line to notch 10 points, Matt Morvillo tallied 10 points and J.R. Newmann added 11 points. Margetson was the only start not in double figures, but he collected 10 rebounds and eight points.
- WPI forced 18 MIT turnovers, scoring 19 points off turnovers, while only turning the ball over nine times in the contest.
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