CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Junior Merlin Gogolin scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and classmate Isaac Dobie surpassed 1,000 career points, but visiting Coast Guard rallied for a 93-91 overtime victory over the MIT men's basketball team in a NEWMAC match-up on Saturday afternoon at Rockwell Cage.
Prior to the contest, the Engineers recognized seniors Rome Delgado-Gonzalez and Parker Spann on a day that also included a halftime ceremony to recognize program alumni in attendance and the 30-year tenure of former MIT men's basketball head coach Larry Anderson.
THE BASICS:
- Score: Coast Guard 93, MIT 91 (OT)
- Records: Coast Guard 8-17 overall (4-12 NEWMAC); MIT 6-19 overall (2-14 NEWMAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- MIT worked past a slow start in the contest, as an early Coast Guard advantage gave way to an 11-point first half lead for the Engineers. With MIT leading 26-25 at 6:29 of the first, Gogolin knocked down a three to ignite a 10-0 MIT run that saw the hosts take a 36-25 advantage at 4:30 after Gogolin finished on a jumper and-one.
- Coast Guard countered with a run of its own, hitting three shots from beyond the arc as part of an 11-0 run that knotted the game at 36-36 with 1:33 left before halftime. However, seven straight MIT points before the break would send MIT into halftime with a 43-36 advantage.
- The Engineers extended the run on the other side of halftime scoring four points to rebuild the team's 11-point advantage. MIT would lead by as many as 16 points in the second half when Gogolin knocked down a pair of free throws to give MIT a 61-45 lead at 14:40.
- Luke Farrell scored the next five Coast Guard points, connecting on a jumper at 14:28 and a triple at 13:48, to make the core 61-50.
- Michael Zhang extended the MIT lead back to 14 with a three at 12:59 but Coast Guard continued to chip away at the deficit over the two minutes, eventually trimming the lead to single digits at 12:45 when a triple from Farrell made the score 64-55 at 12:45.
- Coast Guard continued to hang around over the next eight-plus minutes of play before finally breaking through at 4:23 when Frazer got to the bucket for a layup that tied the contest at 72-72 at 4:23.
- The teams played through five lead changes and two more tie scores over the final 4:23 of regulation.
- Coast Guard pulled ahead, 79-77, when Trevor Parks hit a big three with 1:05 left but Dobie would be the one to send into overtime as he tied the game with a layup with 11 seconds remaining. Coast Guard's last bid as time expired was off the mark, sending the game into the extra session.
- The Bears took the lead early in the extra session and never let it go. Farrell knocked down a three on the first Coast Guard possession to make the score 82-79. The only other Coast Guard basket from the floor in overtime was an Ashton Kendall triple that put the visitors up 85-81 at 2:14. From there, Coast Guard knocked down eight free throws to keep the game out of reach for MIT.
- MIT pulled within two following two free throws from Dobie with 19 seconds remaining, the first of which was the 1000th point of his MIT career, but could not rally in the final seconds as the Bears closed out the 93-91 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Dobie is the 34th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
- 28 points was a season-high for Gogolin as he finished just three points off of his career best. His 15 rebounds matched his career high.
- Farrell matched Gogolin for game-high honors, scoring 28 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and recording eight assists. He was one of three Bears in double-figures along with Frazer and Elijah Parent. Frazer added 22 points and Parent had 17 for Coast Guard.
- Zhang scored 23 points for MIT on 7-of-18 shooting from the field.
- Coast Guard was efficient from the field, shooting 53.6% (30-of-56) and 50% (16-of-32) from three. MIT countered at 39.7% (29-of-73) from the field and hit just 11-of-31 attempts from range (35.5%).
- MIT scored 31 points off of turnovers, limiting Coast Guard to just 10. The Engineers also dominated the paint, finishing with a 36-14 advantage in points scored and a 42-34 edge in rebounding.
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