THE BASICS:

- Score: No. 9 MIT 96, Emerson College 73

- Records: No. 9 MIT (17-2, 7-1 NEWMAC), Emerson College (10-9, 5-3 NEWMAC)

- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)

- The Lead: Led by 50 percent shooting from three and three players in double figures, No. 9 MIT men's basketball went wire-to-wire in a 96-73 home win over Emerson College on Saturday afternoon. The win splits the regular-season series in 2018-19 as the Engineers now hold a 30-4 advantage all-time with the Lions.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- The Engineers came out hot and held a 14-4 lead just 6:21 in following a layup from senior Tim Roberts (Oak Bluffs, Mass.). Emerson cut into the advantage however and with 8:17 on the clock, Geoffrey Gray's layup pulled the visitors to within 21-16.

- MIT closed the half on a 23-9 run, capped by a turnaround three-pointer at the buzzer from first-year Alex Cho (San Diego, Calif.) that made it 44-25 at the break. The Engineers outscored the Lions 21-0 from three-point land over the opening 20 minutes and forced 11 Emerson turnovers.

- In the second, the Engineers made it a 20-point game for the first time before the Lions again cut into the lead to make it 66-50 midway through the half following a jumper by Zach Waterhouse.

- MIT quickly answered and led by as many as 28 points following a three-pointer by senior Cameron Korb (Los Gatos, Calif.) with 5:15 on the clock. Six MIT free throws over the final minutes helped seal the home win as the Engineers have now won five straight games.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Sophomore Hamilton Forsythe (Weston, Conn.) led the Engineers with 22 points and 13-for-15 shooting at the free throw line in 36 minutes. Roberts posted his 13th straight and 15th overall double-double of the season as he finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He also added three assists, one block and two steals. Senior Bradley Jomard (Paris, France) was excellent again with 17 points and eight assists as he was 6-for-9 from the field.

- On the day, MIT held the Lions to just seven three-point attempts and 2-for-7 shooting from deep as Emerson came into the game averaging just over 22 three-point attempts per contest. The Engineers also assisted on 17 of 31 made field goals, held a 36-30 rebounding advantage and turned 19 Emerson turnovers into 19 points on the other end.

- Waterhouse led the Lions with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Gray finished with 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Jack O'Connor posted 14 points before fouling out, while Nate Martin chipped in 12 points off the bench.

- MIT is ranked ninth in this week's D3Hoops.com National Poll as the Engineers are up three spots from No. 12 in last week's rankings. 

UP NEXT:

- MIT is back in action on the road on Wednesday, January 30th as the Engineers travel to Babson College for a 7 p.m. start.

STAY CONNECTED:

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