Nov. 15, 2008

Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - In the season-opener for both squads, the MIT Men's Basketball Team registered an 82-60 victory over the visiting Emmanuel Saints on Saturday afternoon. Hamidou Soumare posted a game-high 28 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the floor while collecting 15 rebounds. Senior guard Rob-Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, Mich.) paced the Saints with 23 points, including a 5-of-9 performance from behind the arc.

MIT jumped on top of the Saints early, establishing a 12-6 edge just over six minutes into the contest. Emmanuel tallied seven unanswered points in a span of 1:14, capped by a lay-up from Williams-Hinton. Four lead changes and three ties ensued before the Saints went up, 22-19, courtesy of a lay-up by sophomore forward Tyrone Buchanan (Detroit, Mich.), which was set up on senior forward Andres Bustamante's (Amherst, Mass.) steal at the 8:12 mark.

Emmanuel's largest lead of the day was short-lived, as a free-throw by Soumare coupled with a three-pointer by Jimmy Bartolotta put MIT ahead for good (23-22) a minute later. The Saints continued to attack, but the Cardinal and Gray entered the break with a 34-29 advantage.

The Engineers opened the second stanza with a 20-9 run that pushed their margin to 17 (55-38) with 11:52 on the clock. Emmanuel battled back, cutting its deficit to 11 (64-53) on a pair of free-throws by sophomore Tony Carter-Hill (Baltimore, MD) at the 4:13 mark. The late rally would not be enough as MIT scored 18 of the final 25 points to close out the game.

Soumare led three Engineers scoring in double-digits on the night. Barotolotta contributed 20 points, seven steals, five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks to boost the Engineers' cause. Jamie Karraker notched 15 points in his intercollegiate debut, while Bradley Gampel tallied nine points, eight assists, seven steals, and six rebounds.

Buchanan compiled 12 points and six rebounds coming off the bench for the Saints, while senior forward Mack Spellman (Clinton, NY) added a team-high nine boards to go along with his eight points. The Saints were plagued by turnovers and fouls, totaling 28 and 29 respectively, in their season debut. MIT out-rebounded Emmanuel, 40-38, and tallied 17 steals in the win.

Emmanuel will host Endicott College on Saturday, November 22nd, in the home opener for the Saints. Next up for MIT will be a road game at Gordon College on Wednesday, November 19th.