Men's basketball coasts to 20-point win
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — MIT put together a strong offensive game, shooting over 57 percent on its way to a 78-58 win over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men’s basketball game. Senior Matt Redfield (Los Altos, Calif.) and junior Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.) each scored 20 points for MIT. Junior Kevin Alvarez (Key Biscayne, Fla.) led Coast Guard with 19 points.
Alvarez got things going for Coast Guard (6-15, 2-8 NEWMAC) with a pair of free throws to start the scoring, but MIT (15-5, 8-2 NEWMAC) came back with five straight points to take its first lead of the afternoon. The Engineers were still on top by five when Redfield hit a jumper seven and a half minutes in, but the Bears came back with an 8-2 run, going back on top 16-15 when senior Eli Sponseller (North Pole, Alaska) drained a three with nine minutes left in the half.
Neither team could gain more than a two-point advantage over the next four minutes and with five minutes to play in the half a pair of Alvarez free throws tied things up at 22-all. MIT then cranked up its offense over the remaining minutes of the half. Sophomore Tim Butala (Monroe, Conn.) hit on a layup that propelled the Engineers to a 16-5 run to end the half, giving MIT an 11-point lead at the break, 38-27.
Coast Guard started the second half by outscoring MIT, 11-2, over the first four minutes, creeping back to within two at 40-38 when Sponseller hit on a layup. MIT answered on the other end with a Butala layup, and the Engineers gradually extended their lead back to double figures, taking an 11-point advantage at 51-40 on a Pedley three with 11:58 left.
Coast Guard could not get any closer than nine points the rest of the way as the Engineers pulled away down the stretch. The Engineers held a 10-point edge with 7:37 to play when Pedley was fouled on a three-point attempt. He sank all three free throws and that started a 7-0 run that put the game to bed. The Bears could not put a final run together and the Engineers went on to take the win and sweep the regular season series.
Redfield completed a double-double with 12 rebounds, with Alvarez also picking up a double-double with 12 boards for Coast Guard. Senior David Anderson (Goose Creek, S.C.) added 16 points for the Bears, while Butala also reached double figures for MIT with 11 off the bench. MIT outshot Coast Guard 57.7 percent to 31.3 percent, with the Bears holding a 40-35 edge on the boards.