BOSTON, Mass. – The No. 10 ranked MIT men's basketball team improved to 4-0 with a convincing 79-46 win over Emmanuel College on Tuesday night. The Engineers were led by senior Jamie Karraker (Morgantown, W. Va.), who connected on seven shots from three-point range en route to a game-high 23 points. Emmanuel falls to 1-2 on the year with the loss.
The visiting Engineers jumped out to a quick double-figure lead, powered by lights-out shooting from Karraker. The senior guard drained five shots from long-range in the game's first six minutes and MIT held a 25-7 lead, forcing a full timeout by Emmanuel.
The MIT frontcourt forced Emmanuel into a poor shooting night, as the Saints made just five of their first 19 shots in the opening 12 minutes of action. On the offensive end, the visitors continued to bury shots both inside and out, holding a 34-14 lead off of 60% shooting through the seven-minute mark.
Another Karraker dagger came with 3:30 to go in the half and the Engineers maintained their twenty point advantage, 39-19. MIT would carry the twenty-point spread into the locker room at the break with a score of 43-23, finishing the half with 51.5% shooting as a team.
Karraker poured in 18 first-half points off of six trifectas to lead the Engineers. Senior guard Billy Bender (Woodlands, Texas) added 10 points and was perfect from both the floor and the line in the half. The Engineers picked apart the Saints' zone defense in the first twenty minutes of play, recording assists on 16 of their 17 field goals. Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) led the way for Emmanuel with eight points and four rebounds in the first half.
Bender kicked off a scoring spree for the Engineers in the second half, netting nine points in the first three minutes. MIT began the half on an 18-5 run and led, 61-28 with 13:57 on the clock.
Despite spurts of life off the bench from the Saints, the Engineers maintained their solid lead throughout and MIT finished with the 79-46 win. Karraker was the high-scorer for the game with 23 points. Bender added 21 points on eight-for-nine shooting, while Will Tashman (Atherton, Calif.) chipped in with a double-double effort of 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior guard Mitchell Kates (Colts Neck, N.J.) dished out 8 assists in the win for MIT.
The Saints were led by Duke and Xavier Everson (Rochester, N.Y.), who each scored 8 points. Senior forward Nate Jackson (Middleboro, Mass.) netted 5 points and grabbed a team-high 6 boards in the effort.
The Cardinal and Gray will host Suffolk University on Saturday, November 26 at 2:00 p.m. Emmanuel will return to action after the holiday break, when the Saints host Wesleyan University on December 1 in a 5:30 p.m. start.
Parts of release courtesy of Emmanuel College Sports Information