SPRINGFILED, Mass. – MIT held Springfield College to just two field goals over the final 11:34 of the first half to build an 18-point halftime lead and the Engineers went on to claim a 53-43 win over the Pride in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball play. Senior Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.) hit on 5-of-8 three-point shots on his way to a 27-point outing to lead MIT.
Pedley gave MIT (15-4, 7-2 NEWMAC) an early three-point advantage with his first trey of the evening, but Springfield (8-12, 4-5 NEWMAC) came back to take a 4-3 lead on a Brandon Eckles layup. That turned out to be the last time the Pride would find themselves ahead in the game.
Pedley answered with a jumper and senior Russell Jonson (New York, N.Y.) hit a pair of free throws before Springfield could score again. The Pride was within three when Josh Downes hit a shot with 11:34 left, but they would hit just two more the rest of the half. MIT took advantage and finished the remaining time in the half by outscoring its opponent, 19-4. Pedley started the surge with a three-pointer and went on to score nine points of the run to help the Engineers to a 30-12 halftime lead.
Pedley hit two more long-range shots in the opening minutes of the second half as MIT opened a 38-14 lead. Midway through the half the Engineers still held a 21-point advantage after senior Lampros Tsontzos (Amarousion, Greece) scored on a layup.
Springfield did not go quietly, mounting a charge in the final minutes. With 5:37 left Quinn McKenna hit on a layup that brought the MIT lead below 20 points at 51-32. The Engineers missed on their next four shots and the Pride put together a 10-0 run that McKenna finished with another layup that made it 51-40. But with just two minutes left there was not enough clock left for Springfield to come all the way back as MIT swept the regular season series for the first time since 2011-12.
MIT saw all five of its starters play every minute, with the Engineers outshooting the Pride 44.4 percent to 35.8 percent and holding a 36-25 edge on the boards. A big part of the MIT rebounding advantage was Tsontzos, who pulled down a career-high 19 boards. Freshman Bradley Jomard (Paris, France) joined Pedley in double figures with 14 points while also adding six rebounds and four blocked shots. Senior Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y.) completed the MIT lineup with eight points and four assists.
Steven Young came off the bench to lead Springfield with eight points, with Eckles and Alex Garstka adding seven each.
MIT will complete a three-game conference road swing on Saturday when it plays at Coast Guard at 3:00 p.m. Springfield will play Saturday as well, traveling to Wheaton College for a 1:00 tilt.