CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 10 ranked MIT men's basketball team jumped ahead of visiting Gordon College early on and used relentless defensive pressure, forcing the Fighting Scots into 23 turnovers, during a 70-38 non-conference win on Thursday night. The Engineers were able to capitalize on the Gordon miscues, with 28 of their points coming off turnovers, to improve their ledger to 2-0. Senior Noel Hollingsworth (Salt Lake City, Utha) was the game's high scorer with 15 points.
After missing its first three shots from the field, the Cardinal and Gray would begin an eight minute stretch in which it made seven-of-nine field goals and outscored Gordon 15-2. Hollingsworth and junior Will Tashman (Atherton, Calif.) combined for 10 of Tech's 15 points during the spurt.
MIT would continue to pull away in the opening stanza and eventually take a 34-14 advantage into halftime.
Tech picked up where it left off to start the second, going on a 11-2 run over the opening three minutes to extend the lead to 45-16. Thanks to some clever passing during the stretch, MIT was able to take advantage of the aggressive Gordon defense for a series of backdoor layups.
The hosts would lead by as many as 33 during the second half, facing little resistance to their second win of season.
Hollingsworth had five rebounds and a pair of blocks to go along with 15 points. Junior Mitchell Kates (Colts Neck, N.J.) was in double-figures for the Cardinal and Gray as well with 10 points. Tashman stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, nine boards, five assists and three steals.
David Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) was the high scorer for Gordon with 10 points. Taylor Bajema (Whitinsville, Mass.) scored six points and collected four caroms in just over 10 minutes of action.
The Engineers held Gordon to just 30.2% shooting (13-43) and did not allow a three-point field goal (0-10). Tech connected on five-of-10 shots from long range, including four-of-five in the first half, while shooting 51.0% from the field.
MIT will continue its homestand on Saturday, November 19, facing RPI at 2:00 p.m. in Rockwell Cage. Gordon will travel to Salem State for its next game, a 7:00 p.m. contest on Tuesday, November 22.