BOSTON, Mass. – Led by Justin Pedley's career-high 33 points the Engineers of MIT managed to hang on as they defeated men's basketball by the final 74-66 Tuesday evening in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 66, MIT 74

UMass Boston (3-3, 0-0 Little East Conference)
MIT (5-1, 0-0 NEWMAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After falling into a 19-point hole to start the second half, the Beacons managed to claw their way back and actually took the lead with 3:17 left in the second half, after senior Quadry Allen (White Castle, La.) put in a layup, off of a MIT turnover. 

The Engineers would take a one-point lead on their next possession, as Pedley went 2-for-2 at the free throw line.  The senior guard then made it a four-point game as he drained a huge 3-pointer with 2:09 left to play.  From there Pedley and Ryan Frankel would add to the Engineers lead as they secured the non-conference victory.

From the field, Pedley was an impressive 10-for-20, and 7-for-15 from 3-point range.  He was also 6-for-7 at the charity stripe, and ended the day with five boards and five assists.  Of his 33 points, 18 came in the final 20 minutes of play, including 10 of MIT's final 14 points in the closing minutes of regulation.

Having another big game for the Beacons was sophomore guard Maurice Magras (Medford, Mass.), who finished one point shy of matching his career best (18 pts.).  The Medford native was 7-for-9 from the field, and a perfect 4-for-4 from distance. Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass.) grabbed a team-best seven boards, while also dropping in 12 points.  Iser Barnes (Boston, Mass.) came off the bench to finish with 11 points and a career-high seven assists.

In the first half, the Engineers were red-hot from the opening tip as Pedley carried the offense, which shot 48.3% from the floor, 46.7% from behind the arc.  For the Beacons they struggled to build any momentum in the first 20 minutes of play, as they were 0-for-6 from behind the arc and just 11-for-27 from the floor.

On the glass, the Engineers held a 36-29 advantage over UMass, but the two teams were even with points in the paint with 24 each. 

The Beacons second half rally was fueled by a 13-4 run over a three minute span that put the Beacons to within one.  Allen would then nail the go-ahead lay-up on their next possession to put the momentum in UMass' corner.  Unfortunately a foul on UMB would send Pedley to the line for two, making both.  On their next possession, the Beacons drove down the court quickly, but they would miss on jumper, with Pedley grabbing the board.  He would then drain a key 3-pointer to make it a two possession game for MIT.

From there the Beacons final basket would come with 1:17 left as Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) scored a lay-up to make it 67-63.  Pedley would then complete an and-1 and with back-to-back 2-for-2 showings at the line, the Engineers managed to pull out the win.

BY THE NUMBERS

• All-time MIT is now 7-3 against the Beacons
• The Engineers are now 4-1 in the Clark Gymnasium
• Freshman Josh Ruffin (Rockland) made his collegiate debut in Tuesday's loss and scored the Beacons first basket of the night. Junior Edmilson Barros (Boston, Mass.) made his basketball debut in the loss. 
• Magras has now scored 10 or more points in three straight contests

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host Western Connecticut State University on Saturday at 3 p.m.