Cambridge, Mass.-MIT saw its defensive effort in the second half pay off as it held Rhode Island College to just 19 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes, helping the Engineers to a 54-38 victory over the Anchormen in men's basketball action this afternoon. Junior Matt Redfield (Los Altos, CA) led MIT (4-2) with 14 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while junior forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, NY) was the only player in double figures for Rhode Island College with 11 points while also leading the team with five rebounds.

MIT took a quick 5-0 lead to open the game after a three-point play by junior Andrew Acker (Merion Station, PA) three and a half minutes in. Rhode Island College responded with an 8-0 run in just a little over a minute, taking an 8-5 advantage on a steal and layup from senior guard Nyheem Sanders (Pawtucket, RI).

It remained close for most of the remainder of the half with three lead changes and three ties coming after Sanders' bucket, with neither team holding more than a four-point lead until the final five minutes of the half. With 5:41 left a trey from senior guard Tom DeCiantis (North Kingstown, RI) resulted in the fourth tie of the contest at 22-all. The Anchormen hit just one field goal for the remainder of the half, however, and MIT took advantage and closed out the final minutes on a 10-2 run, with Acker putting in the final four points to give the Engineers a 32-24 edge at the break.

MIT scored the first five points of the second half, with a trey from freshman Dakota Pierce (Thousand Oaks, CA) putting the Engineers up by five. With the MIT defense holding the Rhode Island College offense in check, the Anchormen could not put a run together to put a dent in the Engineers' lead. With 13:55 left a jumper from junior center Victor Smith (Providence, RI) brought the deficit back down to 10 points at 41-31, but it was as close as Rhode Island College would come as the Anchormen went on to score just seven more points in the half.

A jumper from sophomore Justin Pedley (Kennewick, WA) with 7:21 left put MIT up 46-32 and the Engineers were never challenged after that as they went on to claim the victory. Three other Engineers reached double figures in the scoring column as Pedley and Acker each had 11 points, with Pierce adding 10 more.

MIT was aided by a strong rebounding effort that that saw the Engineers hold a 42-28 edge on the boards, with Acker adding a second double-double for MIT with 12 rebounds. The Engineers outshot their opponents by a 46-27 percent margin.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will host Elms on Thursday, Dec. 5 (7 p.m.).