CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – MIT broke open a four-point game with a late run in the second half and pulled away to take a 74-59 victory over Gordon College in men's basketball action this evening in Rockwell Cage. The Engineers, who won their second straight to open the season, had four players in double figures in scoring, led by a career-high 22 points from junior Tim Butala (Monroe, Conn.). Junior Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) led the Fighting Scots with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Both teams shot below 40 percent in a first half that saw the lead change 11 times and no side taking more than a five-point advantage. After a back-and-forth first eight minutes that left the two teams tied at 12-all, MIT (2-0) got a jumper from Butala and a three from freshman Bradley Jomard (Paris, France) to go up 17-12. Gordon (2-1) battled back over the next three minutes and got things squared back up again when freshman Eric Demers (West Wareham, Mass.) drained a three to make it 20-20 at the 6:40 mark. 

The Scots then went on to take their largest lead of the half, going up 26-23 when sophomore Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) hit a jumper with 3:45 to go. Gordon couldn't pull away, however, and a pair of baskets by freshman Adam Jurko (Weston, Fla.) in the final 1:20 of the half put MIT on top 29-28 at the break.

Gordon went back on top by three early in the second half, getting a trey from freshman Noah Szilagyi (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) two minutes in that had the Scots on top, 32-29. MIT answered with three straight baskets, pulling in front 35-32 on a layup by Butala a minute and a half later. A three by senior Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y.) had the Engineers up by four, but a pair of free throws by sophomore Graham Tienhaara (Holden, Mass.) had Gordon within two at 40-38 with 14 minutes to play.

MIT quickly pushed its advantage back to six points on hoops by Jomard and Butala, but could not pull away. Gordon stayed within striking distance and was still within four at 52-48 after a free throw from senior Udoka Obiora (Boston, Mass.) at the 7:33 mark.

A jumper by Frankel and four free throws from Butala then got MIT going on the run it was looking for. Gordon had just one field goal over a four minute span and the Engineers took advantage, outscoring the Scots by a 12-2 margin to take a 64-50 lead on a free throw by senior Lampros Tsontzos (Amarousion, Greece) with 4:45 left. That was all that MIT needed as Gordon could not get any closer than 10 points the rest of the way. 

Butala also led MIT with nine rebounds as the Engineers gained a 44-37 edge on the boards. Frankel finished with 19 points and eight assists, with Jomard and Jurko adding 14 and 12 points each. Freshman Garrison Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) also reached double figures for Gordon with 13 points. MIT shot 56 percent in the second half and out shot Gordon, 45.6 to 35.4 percent for the game.

MIT will play its third straight at home to start the season on Saturday when the Engineers will host Eastern Nazarene at 2:00 p.m. Next up for Gordon will be a contest at Salem State on November 24 at 7:30 p.m.