MIT beat WPI tonight, 76-53, holding them to 30 points below their previous scoring average. This is the first win for MIT in nearly 7 years.
MIT entered the game with their highest national ranking ever, #9 in the D3hoops.com poll, and as an unlikely favorite given their recent track record against WPI. MIT, however, quickly showed who was the superior team this year, racing out to an 8-0 lead. MIT led 18-8 with just over 10 minutes to go in the first half, but WPI went on 10-3 run over the next two minutes to cut the lead to 21-18. MIT, however, would mount a run of their own, outscoring WPI 16-7 over the final 6.5 minutes of the first half to stretch their 24-20 lead up to 40-27.
WPI came out of the break quickly, scoring 4 straight points to cut the lead to single digits in just 40 seconds. MIT got the tempo back to their liking and would gradually grow their lead up to 20 points with under 11 minutes to play in the game, but WPI would not go away. They engineered an 11-2 run over next 5 minutes to cut the lead to 61-50. MIT answered however, finishing out the game on 15-3 run to stretch the final tally to 76-53.
MIT played a very balanced game with many contributors. The team, overall, shot 62% from the field and had 20 assists on 29 FGs. Mitchell Kates ('13) did a wonderful job orchestrating the team, finishing with 11 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Noel Hollingsworth ('12) continued his solid play, notching is 9th double-double of the season, with 16 points (7-10 FGs) and 10 rebounds. Billy Bender led the team in scoring with 17 points (3-5 3FGs, 6-10 FGs), also adding 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Jimmy Burke ('13) also played very well, especially in the second half, with 12 points on 4-5 FGs and 3-4 3FGs. Will Tashmen added 8 points and 5 rebounds, while Billy Johnson chipped in 9 points.
MIT improves to 14-1, with their sole loss being to D1 Harvard.
