CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Four different players scored in double figures, led by junior Mitchell Kates (Colts Neck, N.J.) who had a season-high 28 points on a perfect shooting day, as the No. 9 ranked MIT men's basketball team cruised to a 92-52 win over Lesley University in non-conference action Saturday in Rockwell Cage. The Cardinal and Gray shot over 55% from the field (32-for-58) and three-point range (10-for-18) and were perfect from the foul line (18-for-18) to improve to 8-0 on the season. Lesley falls to 2-3 with the loss.
Kates was a perfect 10-for-10 from the field and six-of-six at the line and also added six assist and five rebounds. Senior Billy Bender (The Woodlands, Texas) posted a double-double with 10 points and tied a career-high with 12 boards. Senior Noel Hollingsworth (Salt Lake City, Utah) had 17 points, including 15 in the first half. Junior Will Tashman (Atherton, Calif.) had a game-high 15 rebounds for Tech. Senior Jamie Karraker (Morgantown, W. Va.) was the final MIT player to finish in double-digits, with 14 points.
John Sanchez (Carson, Calif.) paced the Lynx with 13 points, including seven-of-11 from the foul line while playing over 35 minutes. Mike Kauffman (Boca Raton, Fla.) was also in double digits with 11 points.
The Lynx kept things close early on, as Bryant Itonyo's (Medford, Mass.) jumper cut the MIT lead to two, 22-20, nearly 10 minutes into the game. From there, the hosts would go on a 16-4 run over the next 4:54 that was capped by Kates' traditional three-point play. The Engineers continued to increase their lead down the stretch, as a pair of Kates free throws in the final seconds sent Tech into the locker room with a 44-29 advantage.
The second half was more of the same, as Tech scored 14 of the first 18 points out of the break to take a 58-33 lead with under 12 to go. MIT's advantage would balloon to as many as 46, thanks in part to its 17 second-chance points.
The Cardinal and Gray held a 50-19 edge on the glass, including 13 offensive rebounds and picked up assists on 22 of its 32 made field goals.
The game was fast pace and frantic at times, with the two teams combining for 36 turnovers and 41 personal fouls.
Tech will travel across town to face UMass-Boston on Tuesday, December 6. Coach Larry Anderson will face off against his son, Paul, a sophomore guard for the Beacons, at 7:00 p.m. Lesley will host Eastern Nazarene College on Monday, December 5 at 8:00 p.m.