Men's Basketball Falls to #8 MIT, 84-64

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Tim Roberts (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 23 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to lead the #8 ranked MIT men's basketball team to an 84-64 non-conference victory over host Bridgewater State University on Thursday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Engineers improve to 10-1 on the season with their tenth straight win, while the host Bears fall to 1-9. MIT has won each of the last four meetings of the two teams and is now 5-3 all-time versus Bridgewater State.

Roberts connected on 9 of 14 field goals attempts and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line. He also added two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Sophomore guard Ian Hinkley (Raleigh, N.C.) checked in with a season-high 25 points for the Engineers to go along with four rebounds, two assists and three steals, while senior guard AJ Jurko (Weston, Fla.) posted a double-double with 19 points and a game-best 13 assists. Hinkley knocked down 9 of 13 field goal attempts including a scorching 7-for-10 from behind the arc.

Junior forward Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, N.C.), junior guard Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) and sophomore forward Nick Crocker (East Falmouth, Mass.) tallied 11 points apiece to pace Bridgewater State. Ward also finished with  a team-high seven rebounds as well as three assists, while Carney tallied five boards and a team-best four assists. Sophomore forward Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.) added ten points for the Bears.

Trailing 17-11 in the first half, the Bears used a 7-0 run capped off by a Crocker three-pointer to take an 18-17 lead. MIT, however, answered with a 14-0 run to pull ahead 31-18 with five minutes remaining in the stanza. Jurko scored eight points during the spurt. Back-to-back layups by Carney and sophomore forward Cole Stairs (Boylston, Mass.) pulled Bridgewater to within nine (31-22), but the Engineers outscored the Bears 14-3 over the final four minutes of the stanza to take a 45-25 lead into the break.

Roberts scored 16 points to lead all first-half scorers while Hinkley checked in with 13. Carney and St. Louis tallied eight points apiece to lead Bridgewater State over the first 20 minutes. The Engineers shot 53% (17-32) from the floor in the stanza while the Bears connected on 42% (11-26) of their field goal attempts and turned the ball over 14 times.

Bridgewater got to within 14 points on three separate occasions in the second half including a 61-47 deficit following a Corey Green (Taunton, Mass.) layup with 9:19 left to play. MIT, however, dashed all hopes of a BSU comeback with an 18-4 run capped off by a trio of three-pointers by Hinkley as the Engineers took a commanding 79-51 lead with 4:38 remaining. Jurko added seven points during the run. The 28-point advantage also marked MIT's largest lead of the game.

The Engineers shot 46% (31-67) for the game and converted 10 of 30 (33%) three-point attempts. MIT also forced 23 turnovers which led to a 33-11 edge in points off turnovers.

The Bears connected on 46% (27-59) of their field goal attempts, but finished just 4-for-15 (27%) from behind the arc and 6-for-14 (43%) at the free throw line.

Bridgewater State is off until late December when the Bears travel to Gallatin, Tennessee for the 2018 Music City Classic. Bridgewater will take on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday, December 29th at 2:00 PM and Ripon College on Sunday, December 30^th at 4:00 PM.  The Engineers are off until Wednesday, January 2nd when they open New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play at home against WPI. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 PM.