THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 66, Eastern Nazarene 64
- Records: MIT (1-2); Eastern Nazarene (0-3)
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)
- The Lead: Led by a career-high 33 points from sophomore Alex Cho (San Diego, Calif.), the MIT men's basketball team picked up its first win of the year as the Engineers defeated Eastern Nazarene in a 66-64 final at Rockwell Cage.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Engineers quickly built to a 17-7 lead over the opening 7:35, capped by a Cho three as MIT eventually led by as many as 18 points in the first half. MIT took a 42-31 lead into halftime after shooting 59.3 percent in the first half and connecting on 6-of-10 from three behind a 29-point half from Cho.
- MIT continued to lead by 13 at 50-37 in the opening moments of the second half before the Lions embarked on a 14-1 run to tie the game at 51-51 after a layup from Jacob Waldroop.
- The game was back and forth over the final minutes, with the final tie coming at 62-62 after ENC's Garrett Crandell drilled a three with just 56 seconds remaining. All the scoring for both teams from then on came at the free throw line, including sophomore Dan Pilsbury (Millington, N.J.) to put MIT in front for good and then another Pilsbury shot to seal the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Cho finished with 33 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three, while Pilsbury added 11 points and MIT forced 21 Eastern Nazarene turnovers. For the Lions, Crandell led the team with 17 points and Josh Rice added 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench.
- With today's win, MIT head coach Larry Anderson continues to close in on 400 career victories as he now has 398 over his 25-year career.
UP NEXT:
- MIT returns to action on Wednesday, November 20th as the Engineers travel to Pine Manor College for a 7 p.m. non-conference start.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.