Senior Day Profile: Dan Mccue

No one has a story quite like Dan Mccue's. The whiz kid from a farm in Maine joined the MIT squad back in the 2007-2008 season, and his impact on the team was immediate. His freshman season was highlighted by an 18-point, 5-rebound performance versus Springfield College while earning Team Rookie of the Year honors.

It was then learned that Mccue had been playing his entire freshman campaign in complete pain. A hip disorder caused his bones to grind against each constantly, forcing him to undergo two hip surgeries. Mccue would have to sit out his sophomore season. After providing support on the sidelines during the 2008-2009 year, and putting in countless hours of rehabilitation every day, Mccue was told his hips did not heal properly. Another season missed and three hip surgeries later, doctors told Mccue he would never be able to play basketball again.

But this wouldn't stop Mccue. After even more rehabilitation, the 6'3" guard returned to the court last year, helping lead the team to a NEWMAC Championship and the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament. He was most well-known to fans for his two-point bank-shot in the last minute versus Ithaca College of the 1st Round of the NCAA Tournament, a shot that put the Engineers ahead for the win.

This year, Mccue was voted team captain, and has been an invaluable leader on the floor and in the locker room. The shooting guard is also 7th in the conference in A/TO ratio (1.5). Off the court, Mccue is an Economics major with concentrations in Political Science and Finance and has applied to MIT's Graduate School. If admitted, Mccue will return for his final year of eligibility.

Senior Day Profile: Arni Lehto

Arni Lehto came to MIT from Helsinki, Finland, with a wealth of basketball experience playing on club teams in his homeland. Lehto's hard work, skill, and passion for the game earned him a spot on the squad, and ever since, the "Finnish Fury" has been an incredible leader during MIT Basketball's most successful era in history.

Lehto, a two-time Academic All-Conference selection, has helped lead the Engineers to four 20-win seasons, three NCAA Tournament Appearances, two Conference Tournament Championships, one Conference Regular Season championship, and a number of team records. Lehto will join Bender as MIT Basketball's all-time winningest class with a record of 83-24.

Off the court, Lehto was recently featured on the blog for his work with HelmetHub, an award-winning idea that has received much publicity. Lehto, a mechanical engineering major and economics minor, has been accepted to Stanford's Graduate School.

Senior Day Profile: Billy Bender

Bender in his Sophomore year drives past current New York Knick Jeremy Lin (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Billy Bender came to MIT from Woodlands, Texas as a freshman on the famed 2008-2009 squad, and his quirky knack to find the ball and get it in the hoop was discovered immediately. The 6'5" guard/forward possessed all the skills a utility player needs; Bender could do everything.

Bender is considered one of the top defenders in the NEWMAC (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Billy Bender started off his career with a bang. In fact, the current success of the MIT Basketball can be traced back to "The Shot" by Bender his freshman year. Down two with seconds left in the quarterfinals of the 2009 NEWMAC Tournament versus Coast Guard, the quiet but deadly freshman nailed a baseline jumper to send the game into overtime. MIT would go on to win the game and eventually the program's first conference championship. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Bender's heroics were needed again as he sunk all four of his free-throws in the final seconds of the overtime upset of #17 Rhode Island College. "Big Shot Bender" had emerged.

Bender comes into Senior night with 702 career points, 389 rebounds, and 183 assists (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Since then, Billy Bender has quietly been a force for the Engineers, and has turned into not only the most efficient offensive player in the conference, but one of the premiere defenders as well. Bender is currently ranked in the top 15 in more categories (12 out of a possible 13) than any other player in the conference, reflecting his overall impact on the game. He currently leads the NEWMAC in field goal percentage (57.9) and three-point field goal percentage (47.3). He is also 4th in FT% (76.6), 4th in defensive rebounds (4.6), 8th in steals (1.4), 8th in rebounds (5.8), 8th in A/TO (1.4), 9th in 3FGM (1.2), 11th in minutes (29.2), 12th in assists (2.0), 13th in blocks (0.4), 15th in scoring (10.2). More importantly, Bender consistently guards the opposing team's best player.

Off the court, Bender is a Chemical Engineering major, and has offers from a number of different chemical manufacturing firms for next year.

Tech Wins 20th Game

The #5 MIT Men's Basketball team triumphed in a thriller versus 2nd-place Springfield College yesterday afternoon with a 69-67 victory. Tied with under a minute to go, sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker nailed a three from the corner and hit the final two free-throws (his 999th and 1000th career points) of the game to secure MIT's fourth 20-win season in a row in front of a packed house at Springfield College. This is MIT 's 10th straight win versus the Pride of Springfield, as the Engineers move to 20-1 on the season and 8-1 in conference.

The MIT Engineers continue to make history (Pic: Shri Ganeshram)

Leading the way with another incredible performance was big-man Will Tashman, scoring 17 points with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and a thunderous block that pinned the ball against the backboard. All-American Noel Hollingsworth followed suit with 16 points, while Mitchell Kates scored 15 points to pass current Assistant Coach Bill Johnson '10, Bill Eagleson '64, Joe Levesque '95, and David Tomlinson '91 to move into 17th all-time on the MIT scoring list (1,067).

Junior Will Tashman currently sits at 875 points and 632 rebounds for his career (Pic: Shri Ganeshram)

Senior Billy Bender scored 10 points along with his 7 rebounds, all while holding Alex Berthiaume, who is tied with Hollingsworth for the NEWMAC scoring crown, to just 4-of-15 shooting.

This is Head Coach Larry Anderson's fifth 20-win season (Pic: Shri Ganeshram)

Tech takes on Babson College at home on Wednesday at 6pm in the final regular season home game for the Engineers. This Senior Night will honor Billy Bender and Arni Lehto, MIT's all-time winningest class with a record of 83-24 (0.78).

MIT Basketball Featured on SportsIllustrated.com

The MIT Men's Basketball Team, ranked 5th in the country, appears today on Sports Illustrated's website. Read more here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/alexander_wolff/02/03/middlebury.mit.wolff/index.html?sct=cb_wr_a1

Hollingsworth, Karraker Honored with Academic All-District Award

Juniors Noel Hollingsworth and Jamie Karraker were each named to the Capital One Academic All-District men's basketball first team today. They will now be placed on the Academic All-America ballot. Read more here: http://www.mitathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/2011-12/releases/20120202r43lp9

MIT Moves to 19-1 While Hollingsworth Hits 1,000 Points

The #5 MIT Men's Basketball squad took care of business at Wheaton last night with a commanding 85-56 victory to solidify their first place standing in the NEWMAC at 7-1 (19-1 overall). Tech jumped out on the Lyons 34-7 fifteen minutes into the game, and never looked back. Despite going cold from three (4-21), MIT shot a staggering 81% from inside the arc (29-36) for the game.

Noel Hollingsworth becomes the 25th player to reach the 1,000-point milestone for MIT (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Leading the way once again was current NEWMAC Player of the Week Noel Hollingsworth, netting a game-high 19 points with 9 boards, 4 blocks and 3 assists. The 6'9" Center also hit the career 1,000-point mark on his 12th point of the night. Teammate Mitchell Kates hit the mark last week, while Junior Jamie Karraker is inches away with 992 points.

Junior Dan Mccue led the scoring surge for Tech with back-to-back triples in the first half (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Following suit with a dominating performance was 6'8" Will Tashman, who registered his ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Mitchell Kates also contributed 17 points with 4 steals and 3 assists, while Senior Billy Bender pitched in 13. 

MIT takes on 2nd place Springfield at their place this Saturday at 2pm.

Kates Siblings Featured in Daily Pennsylvanian

MIT Junior point guard Mitchell Kates and his sister, Jackie Kates, have been playing basketball with each other their whole lives. Read more about Jackie, a freshman guard at University of Pennsylvania, and MIT's newest 1,000-point scorer here: http://thedp.com/index.php/article/2012/02/jackie_kates_big_brother_knows_best

Hollingsworth Earns 3rd Player of the Week Honor

Hollingsworth has been one of the most dominating big-men in the country this year (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Junior Noel Hollingsworth earned his third, and MIT's sixth, NEWMAC Player of the Week award for his dominating performances last week. The 6'9" All-American averaged 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while shooting a commanding 61% from the field.

Hollingsworth is 12 points shy of the 1,000-point mark, a feat that could be reached this Wednesday at Wheaton along with Jamie Karraker (who is 13 points away from the milestone).

Live stats of the game can be found here: http://athletics.wheatoncollege.edu/livestats/landing

Read more about the Player of the Week here: http://www.newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/POTW/mbkbPOTW013012

MIT Moves Up to #5 in Top 25 Poll

With the two wins this week, MIT moves up a spot to #5 in the nation in the latest D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

Joining Tech is Northeast Region teams Middlebury (#1), Amherst (#6), and Williams (#16), while others are on the bubble in Rhode Island College (#27), Eastern Connecticut (#28), Albertus Magnus (#31), and WPI (#32).

MIT has been ranked in the Top 10 every week this season.

See the complete rankings here: http://d3hoops.com/top25/men/2011-12/week9