CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Lesley's upset bid over No. 21 MIT (9-1) fell short Saturday afternoon, as a 27-5 Engineers second half run spanning over 10 minutes turned a 52-51 game into an MIT's eighth straight win.
Junior guard Jamie Karracker (Morgantown, WV/Phillips Exeter) ignited the Engineers attack from the get-go, shooting 8-16 from three-point range for 24 points. Fellow junior Noel Hollingsworth (Salt Lake City, UT/Judge) followed with 22 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
For Lesley, reigning ECAC Player of the Week John Sanchez (Carson, CA/Saint John Bosco) tied for game-high honors with 24 points, while senior center Jesus Trejo led all players with 12 rebounds.
Seconds into the game, Karraker went nothing but net from behind the three point line to give the Engineers a 3-0 lead, one the team would hold the rest of the way. Sanchez kept the Lynx close, contributing nine points over the next six minutes to help keep the Lynx in the game. His three-pointer just inside the 13:00 mark pulled the Lynx to within four, 19-15.
With 12:24 left in the first, MIT went on a run that would give them an 18-point lead, as a Hollingsworth trey made it a 39-21 game with 4:45 left in the half. Lesley chipped away from both inside and out, as a Bryant Itonyo shot from behind the arch followed by a Sanchez layup in the closing seconds brought the game within seven, 45-38 at intermission.
MIT shot 46 percent from the field for the frame to Lesley's 42 percent. Karraker led all players at halftime with 15 points, all coming from downtown, where he went 5-8. He was followed by Sanchez, who played the entire first half for 14 points. Hollingsworth also contributed 13 points and five rebounds for the engineers.
Out of halftime, the Lynx remained at their Cambridge neighbor's doorstep. At 14:45, Lesley freshman Grant Cobb (Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) hit a layup that got the Lynx within two. Fifty-five seconds later, Sanchez hit his fourth three-pointer of the game to narrow the Engineers lead to 52-51.
Over the next three minutes MIT went on an 8-0 run commenced by Karraker and Hollingsworth trifectas that provided the visitors all the breathing room they would need. Karraker and Hollingsworth delivered the daggers at the 5:30 mark, as each nailed a three-pointer in opening up an 18-point Engineers lead.
In pulling away with the 82-61 win, MIT shot 48 percent from the floor and 50 percent (14-28) from distance. The Engineers also converted on 77 percent (10-13) of shots from the free throw line for the game to Lesley's 62 percent (13-21). Fueled by Trejo's dozen, Lesley outrebounded MIT, 34-33.
Lesley falls to 2-7 on the season and MIT moves ahead to 9-1. MIT will recess until New Year's Eve, when the team travels to Harvard. Lesley has a three week break until 2011 when it returns to competition on January 6th at Mount Ida at 6pm.
