THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 88, Salem State 58
- Records: MIT (5-3); Salem State (1-6)
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)
- The Lead: Led by a 26-point, 17-rebound double-double from junior Ian Hinkley (Raleigh, N.C.), the MIT men's basketball team picked up its second straight win with an 88-58 home victory over Salem State University on Thursday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Vikings jumped out to an early 8-4 lead with 14:43 left in the first following a layup from Pat Sullivan. The Engineers quickly took their first lead of the game at 9-8 on a dunk by sophomore Cooper Driscoll (Wallingford, Pa.) and pushed the advantage into double digits at 23-13 after a free throw by first-year Matas Masys (Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.).
- MIT connected on four straight three-pointers to lead 35-18 with 6:27 on the clock and eventually took the 57-26 advantage into the halftime break. The 31-point lead was made possible by 64.3 percent shooting from three (9-for-14) while forcing 14 Salem State turnovers. Chris MacDonald led the Vikings in that half with 12 points as he connected on 4-of-7 three-point opportunities.
- After another Masys three-pointer extended the MIT lead to a game-high 34 points, the Vikings fought back to within 70-47 after an 8-2 run that was capped by a jumper from Fern Berard. The Engineers pushed the lead back out to 30 however and maintained a solid advantage down the stretch to improve to 9-6 overall in the all-time series with the Vikings.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Hinkley now has four double-doubles in five games following tonight's performance as his 17 rebounds marked a career-high. Sophomore Alex Cho (San Diego, Calif.) nearly finished with a double-double with 19 points and eight assists, while sophomore Dan Pilsbury (Millington, N.J.) was the final MIT starter in double figures with 12 points in 40 minutes.
- Driscoll tallied a career-high 17 points in 26 minutes off the bench, along with 12 points, three assists and three steals by Masys.
- Three Vikings finished in double figures in scoring, paced by 18 points from MacDonald. Berard and Jaden Castillo added 10 points each, along with a team-high nine rebounds by Hakeem Animashaun. Animashaun finished with six points and now sits at 975 career points.
- Defensively, MIT forced 22 Salem State turnovers and outrebounded the visitors by a 49-40 margin. The Engineers outshot the Vikings from the field, three-point land and the free throw line as the hosts connected on 16-of-19 from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT:
- MIT is back in action on Saturday, December 7th as the Engineers travel to Fitchburg State for a 3 p.m. non-conference start.
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