COLLEGE MEN'S
BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
MIT 71, Tufts 59
At Medford, MA
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Game
Statistics
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Freshman Scott Anderson continued to produce
with 12 points and six rebounds
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MEDFORD -- With five players scoring in double figures, the 15th
ranked MIT men's basketball team remained undefeated against
Division III opponents with a 71-59 victory at Tufts University on
Tuesday night at Cousens Gymnasium.
Host Tufts looked as though they may spring an upset, jumping
out to a 24-11 lead on the strength of two three-pointers by
Dan Cook (Dover, MA), good for his six first-half
points. Halfway through the first half, Tufts led by 13, its
biggest advantage of the game, but MIT started to slowly chip away.
Steals and fast breaks allowed the Engineers to climb back into the
game, and senior Billy Johnson (Everett, WA) went
four for six from three-point land during the first 20 minutes,
including a big shot to tie the game at 26-26 with 5:45 remaining
until halftime. Johnson had 12 points to lead MIT in the first
half.
Both teams shot well in the first frame, with the Jumbos just two
percentage points below the 50 percent mark at 12 for 25, and MIT
two points above it at 14 for 27. Senior tri-captain Jon Pierce (Belmont, MA) led Tufts with eight points in the
first half, but the visitors went into the locker room with a
four-point lead at 34-30.
Capitalizing on their momentum from staging a late first-half
comeback, MIT came out with a burst in the second half. This time
they looked to sophomore Noel Hollingsworth (Salt Lake
City, UT) for offensive production and interior power.
Hollingsworth led MIT with 16 points and 13 boards overall.
Freshman Jimmy Burke (Scotch Plains, NJ) also
found his touch from downtown, capping a 12-1 run to put MIT up
53-42 at the 10:09 mark. Burke hit three shots from deep that
consistently killed off any chances of a home team comeback. The
Engineers shot 41 percent from behind the arc on the evening
(9/22), and finished at 50 percent (25/50) overall.
Late three-pointers by senior Dave Beyel (Ocean City,
NJ) were not enough to pull Tufts to within anything
better than a seven-point deficit. The senior forward led Tufts in
points with 20 and in rebounds with eight, while adding pairs of
steals and assists in 34 minutes. Freshman Scott Anderson
(Sudbury, MA) contributed 12 points and six boards in the
effort, while Pierce finished with 10 points.
Freshman point guard Mitchell Kates (Colts Neck,
NJ) played 39 minutes and put up 13 points with six
assists for the winners. MIT improves to an impressive 12-1 mark,
and next plays Saturday at Babson in their first conference game of
the year. The only loss for the Engineers came against Harvard on
December 28.
The Jumbos fall to 2-7 on the season, and will travel to UMass
Boston on Thursday night.
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