CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In the final regular season game of the 2012-13 men's basketball season for MIT, the No. 22 Engineers jumped out to a big lead over visiting Wheelock College and never looked back in a 76-34 win. Senior Will Tashman (Atherton, Calif.) recorded his third straight double-double with a career-high 28 points and 19 rebounds to lead MIT to the win. Senior Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) also recorded a double-double for Wheelock, finishing with 13 points and 11 boards.
Already the school record holder for career rebounds, Tashman picked up his 1,000 career board midway through the second half when he grabbed a missed MIT shot and slammed it home for a dunk. He hit on 13 of his 15 shot attempts in the contest as he became the first player in MIT history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
Hudson gave Wheelock (3-21) an early 2-0 lead, but MIT (20-4) reeled off nine straight points to take a 9-2 advantage after a layup by sophomore Matt Redfield (Los Altos, Calif.). The Wildcats came right back, with Hudson nailing a trey and senior Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, Mass.) getting a jumper that had them back within a pair at 9-7.
MIT still led by a pair after another layin by Higgins when the Engineers took control of the game. Over the next five and a half minutes MIT outscored Wheelock 21-5, getting 12 points from Tashman and a pair of three-point shots from freshman Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.) in the span to take a 32-14 lead. Higgins drained a three for the Wildcats to put hold on the MIT run, but it was the final points of the half for the Wildcats as the Engineers went on to a 40-17 lead at the half.
A three by senior Mitchell Kates (Colts Neck, N.J.) with 16:29 to play pushed MIT's lead out to 30 points at 49-19. Wheelock, which struggled with its offense and shot just 21.9 percent for the game, just could not find enough offensive punch to get the MIT advantage under 30 points the rest of the way as the Engineers picked up their 20th win for a fifth straight season.
MIT put its size advantage over Wheelock to good use, scoring 54 points in the paint and shooting 55.9 percent for the game. Redfield was the only other MIT player to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds. He also tied Kates for game-high honors with six assists, with Kates adding eight points and seven rebounds in his final home appearance. Higgins matched Hudson for the scoring lead for Wheelock, hitting on three treys and netting a total of 13 points.
MIT will now move on to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Tournament action next weekend, which is being hosted by WPI. The No. 2 seed, the Engineers will face off against No. 3 Springfield on February 23 at 3 p.m. in Worcester.