Carter Pours in 27 as Men’s Basketball Defeats No. 15 MIT 73-70

Framingham, Mass. — Freshman guard Darius Carter (Boston, Mass.) poured in a game-high 27 points to lead the Framingham State University men's basketball team to a 73-70 win over MIT this afternoon in non-conference action at Framingham's Athletic Center.  With the win, the Rams even their record at 1-1, while the Engineers, who were ranked number 15 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25, are also 1-1 after the loss.              

Darius Carter led all scorers with 27 points on 10 of 15 shooting from the field (66.7%) including 3 of 5 from behind the arc.  Classmate Juan Lopez (Holyoke, Mass.) continued his hot shooting from long range connecting on 4 of 6 from behind the arc en route to 14 points, while senior guard Royce Veal (Dorchester, Mass.) chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and five assists. Brendan Carter (South Boston, Mass.) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while Allen Saint Surin (Brockton, Mass.) added eight points.   

Sophomore Mitchell Kates (Colts Neck, NJ) led four Engineers in double figures with 17 points and seven assists.  Junior Jamie Karraker (Morgantown, WV) chipped in 15 points on 4 of 12 shooting from behind the arc.  Forward Noel Hollingsworth (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Will Tashman (Atherton, Calif.) each contributed a double double.  Hollingsworth picked up 14 points and 12 boards, while Tashman finished with 12 and 12.

MIT opened up a 20-13 lead on a three point play by Kates with 7:33 remaining in the first half.  The Rams pulled within one, 27-26, on a three by Lopez with 3:13 remaining that started the Rams on a 13-7 run to close the half.  Darius Carter scored nine points on the run including a three and a layup as time expired that put the Rams up 39-34 at the break.

In the second half, the Rams extended their lead to as many as 11 points, but MIT clawed their way back and pulled within five on a three from junior Billy Bender (Woodlands, Texas) at 62-57 with 1:30 remaining.  The Engineers began fouling the Rams to lengthen the game, but the Rams hit 13 of 14 free throws in the final two minutes to secure the victory.

The Rams shot 46.2% from the floor and 42.1% from three point range in the game, while the Engineers shot just 40% from the floor and 26.1% from long range.  MIT held a 45-25 rebounding advantage including a 19-5 edge on the offensive glass.

The Rams return to action on Tuesday as they travel to WPI at 7 p.m., while the Engineers host Curry at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.