01/24/2009
Men's Basketball Falls to NEWMAC Unbeaten MIT, 83-72

WORCESTER, MASS. 01/24/09 - Senior Jimmy Bartolotta (Littleton, Colo.) had a game-high 32 points to lead MIT to an 83-72 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over Clark University at the Kneller Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.

Winners of six straight, MIT, which remained undefeated in league play with a program-best 5-0 start, raised its overall mark to 13-4. Clark (9-8, 3-3 NEWMAC) has dropped its last three games.

Bartolotta, who drained three treys, shot 12-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He was joined in double-figures by classmate Billy Johnson (Everett, Wash.) with 23 points and freshman Jaime Karraker (Morgantown, West Va.) with 10. Senior Bradley Gampel (Miami, Fla.) led MIT on the glass with eight boards and had a team-high 10 assists and five steals.

Clark was led by junior Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) with 22 points and four assists. Senior Peter Normandin (Westminister, Mass.) and freshman Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) chipped in with 18 and 15 points, respectively. Normandin also picked up his first double-double of the year with 11 rebounds.

After Bartolotta's bucket tied the game (15-15) for the third time at 11:55 of the first half, the visitors went on a 9-2 run for a 24-17 lead with 8:20 remaining.

Vayda snapped Clark's 4:44 scoring drought with a lay-up to close the gap to five (19-24), but a Bartolotta lay-in, steal and fast-break basket pushed MIT's lead back up to nine (28-19) with 6:22 left.

Clark clawed its way back with an 8-0 spurt, featuring back-to-back trey's by Normandin and Byron Roberts (New Haven, Conn.), to trail 28-27 with 3:43 on the clock.

Bartolotta had 14 first half points to lead MIT to a 30-27 advantage into the break.

The Cougars got within two (31-33) on a pair of free throws by Normandin in the opening minutes of the second half, but that's as close as they would get. MIT used a 10-2 run, fueled by six points from Johnson, for a 43-33 advantage and never looked back.

Both teams shot well from the line. Clark shot 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the stripe, while MIT, which shot 55.3 percent from the field, hit at a 73.3 percent (22-of-30) clip. Clark hurt itself from three-point range, connecting on just 5-of-23 shots from beyond the arc.

Clark will host Tufts University in a non-conference game on Wednesday (7 p.m.). MIT will travel to WPI for a showdown of NEWMAC unbeatens that same night at 7 p.m.