Providence, R.I.--The Rhode Island College men's basketball team dropped a 74-46 decision to MIT in a non-conference contest played at The Murray Center on Thursday evening.

RIC (4-5) was led by senior forward Domonique Bull (Worcester, MA) with 13 points and one rebound, while sophomore forward Benjamin Vezele (Providence, RI) added seven points, four rebounds and four blocks in the loss.

Sophomore guard Dakota Pierce (Thousand Oaks, CA) paced MIT (7-2) with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while senior forward Tim Batula (Monroe, CT) contributed 18 points, four boards and three assists. Sophomore guard AJ Jurko (Weston, FL) tallied 14 points, six rebounds and six assists and sophomore forward Tim Roberts (Oak Bluffs, MA) was also in double figures, narrowly missing a double-double, with 13 points and nine rebounds.

MIT raced out to the early lead and took its first double-digit advantage on a three-pointer by Jurko, making the score 18-6 with 9:53 left in the first half. The visiting Engineers led by as many as 15 points twice in the first half before RIC made a comeback, closing to the gap to 23-18 on a jumper by freshman guard Chris Farrington (Fall River, MA) with 3:42 remaining on the clock. That would be as close as the Anchormen would get, however, as MIT pulled away in the end of the half and took a 33-21 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. MIT held a 22-17 advantage on the glass in the stanza and held RIC to just 34.5 percent (10-of-29) shooting from the field.

The Engineers reached their first 20-point lead midway through the second half after a layup from Jurko with 11:39 remaining gave MIT a 50-30 advantage. RIC trimmed the deficit down to 12 points, but MIT quickly built the advantage back up to 20 and held on for the win.

RIC shot 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the field, 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from behind the three-point stripe and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from the free throw line. MIT shot 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the field, 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three-point land and 80.0 percent (8-for-10) from the free throw line. MIT had a 46-30 rebounding advantage for the game and posted a 19-4 advantage in second chance points.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will resume Little East Conference play at home against Eastern Connecticut on Saturday, Dec. 10 (3 p.m.).