CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Nationally-ranked No. 6 MIT used a 22-5 run at the end of the first half and beginning of the second to pull away from visiting Clark University and bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 64-46 win over the Cougars in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night. The Cardinal and Gray improved to 17-1 on the year and remain in a first-place tie atop the conference standings at 5-1.
Senior Jamie Karraker (Morgantown, W. Va.) was one of three Tech scorers in double-figures, leading the way with 18 points on six-of-nine shooting from three-point range. Senior Noel Hollingsworth (Salt Lake City, Utah) had 15 points and six rebounds and junior Mitchell Kates (Colts Neck, N.J.) chipped in with 11 points, five boards, five assists and four steals.
Jake Gubitose (Fiskdale, Mass.) was the high scorer for Clark (8-10, 1-5 NEWMAC) with 12 points off the bench, including four made three-pointers. DJ Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) added eight points and John Karas (South Glastonbury, Conn.) contributed seven.
MIT never trailed in the game, scoring the first six points before Clark responded with a 6-0 run of its own to even the score. Mitch Renshaw's (Rutland, Mass.) three-ball with 14:30 to play in the opening stanza knotted the game at six and that would be the only time in the game the Cougars would pull even on the scoreboard.
After Gubitose canned another shot from behind the arc to cut the deficit to two, 22-20, with 3:54 left in the first half, the Cardinal and Gray outscored Clark 10-1 down the stretch to take a 32-21 advantage into the locker room. Kates found freshman Matt Redfield (Los Altos, Calif.) for a layup in the closing seconds to cap the spurt.
The Engineers picked up where they left off in the second, going on a 12-4 run over the first 4:34 of period, punctuated by a pair of three's from Karraker to give MIT its largest lead of the night at 44-25.
The Cougars would get no closer than 16 points the rest of the way, as MIT was able to get back into the win column, following Saturday's setback against WPI, its first loss of the 2011-12 campaign.
The MIT defense was able to frustrate Clark into 16 turnovers on the night while holding the Cougars to just 31.4% shooting from the field (16-51). Tech controlled the lane as well, outscoring Clark, 34-8, in points in the paint.
Both teams will play again on Saturday, January 28. MIT hosts Coast Guard Academy at 2:00 p.m. Clark will continue its road-swing with a trip to Wheaton College for a 2:00 p.m. tip.