Basketball defeats Clark, Coast Guard
Karraker sets the institute record for number of 3-point shots in a season
Shri Ganeshram—The Tech
Last week, MIT rebounded from its first loss against WPI with two wins against Clark and Coast Guard.
On Wednesday in its game against Clark, MIT benefitted from poor shooting from their opposition, who only made 16 of 51 field goal attempts, compared to MIT’s solid 26 of 49. The Engineers’ ball handling was mediocre, turning over the ball 17 times.
MIT was lead by James D. Karraker ’12 who scored 18 points, all from beyond the arc, shooting six of nine. Noel Hollingsworth ’12 also performed well, dominating the paint on both sides of the court, with six rebounds, three blocks, and five points. Matthew M. Redfield ’15 had a strong presence on the court in just 10 minutes of play, with six rebounds and three blocks. MIT finished the game with a solid 64-46 win.
The Engineers played Coast Guard on Saturday, shutting the team out. MIT had a strong start, leading 10-0 after just over three minutes of play. Coast Guard recovered, diminishing MIT’s lead to only three with 14:31 in the first half, up 14-11. MIT quickly turned the tables back in its favor, expanding the lead during the rest of the half, coming out ahead, 45-31.
Poor shooting on Coast Guard’s end during the second half allowed MIT to coast during the second half, ending the game with an 80-55 victory. The game was a 3-point shooting show on MIT’s end, making 13 of 32 as a team. Point guard Mitchell H. Kates ’13 played an impressive game, scoring 21 points, 15 of which were from the outside range on five of seven 3-point shooting. Center Hollingsworth performed well, with a double-double consisting of 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Karraker was not as efficient as a shooter as he usually is, shooting only five of 13 from beyond the arc. But his outstanding and consistent 3-point shooting performance throughout the season has led to him setting the institute record for most 3-point shots made during a season, currently having a total of 86 3-pointers. Earlier in the year, Karraker had set MIT’s career record for 3-point shooting. Karraker could possibly take a spot in Division III history as one of the top 20 3-point shooters of all time (3-point field goals made) — this would require him to make 37 more 3’s during this season or 123 3’s total. Karraker currently has the eighth highest 3-point field goal percentage in Division III (46.8), the second highest number of 3-point field goals per game (4.5), and the greatest number of total 3-point field goals made this season — he is definitely a force from beyond the arc.
The Engineers will next play at Wheaton College. Their next home game is against Babson College on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. against Babson College.