MIT Holds off Men’s Basketball for 64-61 Victory
Framingham, Mass. – Junior Joe McCabe (Canton, Mass.) poured in a career-high 24 points including five three pointers as the Framingham State University men's basketball team was edged 64-61 by MIT in non-conference action this afternoon at the Athletic Center.
With the win, the Engineers improve to 6-1 on the year, while the Rams fall to 3-5.
McCabe led the Rams with his career-high 24 on 8-of-15 from the field including 5-of-11 from behind the arc. McCabe sank his first three shots from long range staking the Rams a 9-5 lead in the opening minutes. Junior Tim McCarthy (Wilmington, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points on 5-of-8 from the field, while sophomore Patrick Gould (Quincy, Mass.) added 11 including three threes. The Rams shot 44% from behind the arc in the game including connecting on 6-of-11 in the second half.
MIT was led by a game-best 26 points from junior Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.). Pedley connected on 9-of-17 from the floor including 3-of-6 from behind the arc and 5-of-6 from the line. Classmate Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with 13 points, six assist and four rebounds, while Lampros Tsontzos came off the bench and narrowly missed a double double with 10 points and nine boards.
The first half saw three ties and three lead changes with the Engineers using an 11-3 run fueled by six points from Pedley to break a 17-17 tie and take the lead for good. The Engineers led by as many as eight (28-20) before taking a six point advantage into the half, 30-24.
The Engineers maintained the lead throughout the second half, but the Rams were able to pull within one on a pair of occasions. A pair of McCabe free throws with just under seven minutes remaining cut the deficit to 50-49, but the Engineers used an 8-0 spurt to extend the lead back to nine with under three on the clock.
The Rams would not go away chipping away at the lead and cutting it back to two on a Patrick Cuff (Medway, Mass.) layup with 17 seconds left. Frankel would sink a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining and after a McCarthy bucket 1-of-2 with 1.3 on the clock to seal the victory.
The Rams are back in action next Thursday evening when they travel to Daniel Webster College for a non-conference contest beginning at 7 p.m., while the Engineers host Emmanuel College on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.