01/26/2008
Men's Basketball Falls to MIT, 87-80

WORCESTER, MASS. 01/26/08 - Junior Jimmy Bartolotta (Littleton, Colo.) scored 33 points, including five three-pointers, and junior Hamidou Soumare (Bamako, Mali) had 26 points to lead MIT to an 87-80 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over Clark University in men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.

Clark falls to 9-8 (4-2 NEWMAC). Winners of three straight, MIT improves to 11-6 and 3-2 in league play.

Three players scored in double-figures for Clark. Junior Peter Normandin (Westminster, Mass.) led with 26 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and a perfect 12-of-12 at the line and a team-high nine rebounds, while sophomore Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) had 13 points and senior Pat Landers (Worcester, Mass.) finished with 12 points and seven boards.

Trailing 11-15 early, Clark used an 11-6 run sparked by consecutive three-pointers from Landers, Pat Ochoa (Springfield, Mass.) and D.J. Brinn (Madison, Conn.) to take its first lead (22-21) since the opening minutes. The Engineers responded, however, with a 16-4 burst of their own for a 37-26 advantage at the 5:11 mark and held on for a slim 43-39 edge at the break.

Clark got behind by as many as nine (44-53) on a conventional three-point play by Soumare at the 17:37 mark of the second half. The Cougars then went on a 12-3 run to knot the score at 56-all with 12:48 remaining. Normandin accounted for 10 points during the stretch.

The two teams traded buckets over the next 1:15 for a 60-60 tie, until Bartolotta scored six of the next eight points to give MIT a 66-62 advantage. Normandins three-point play made it a one-point (65-66) game, but the Engineers used a 9-0 spurt to take its largest lead (75-65) of the half with 4:58 left to play.

The Cougars made a couple of runs at the visitors in the remaining minutes. A lay-up by Alexander cut the deficit to four (72-76) at the 2:23 mark and Landers trey narrowed the lead to five (80-85) with 36 seconds left, but would get no closer.

MIT shot 55.1% from the floor and 61.5% from beyond the arc to Clarks 48.1% and 45.8% clip, respectively.

Clark will travel to Babson College for a NEWMAC tilt next Saturday (1 p.m.), while MIT will host WPI on Wednesday (6:00 p.m.)