From the opening tip, the pace of the game was extremely quick. Although MIT (9-4) started hot from the floor, the tempo of the game fell out of favor for the Engineers against RIC’s athletic five. Solid execution on the offensive end kept MIT ahead for the entire first half, but Rhode Island College (8-5) stayed within striking distance. Freshman Jimmy Bartolotta knocked down a three with 8:08 left in the first period to give MIT its largest lead of the night at 26-17. Although Tech remained in front the rest of the half, the Anchormen chipped at the lead with hot three-point shooting by Durgin and Kamari Williams. Durgin actually connected on a triple inside the final 10 seconds that slashed MIT’s lead to 37-36 at the break.
After stretching its lead back to six on jumpers by Mike D’Auria and Bartolotta to open the second half, MIT went cold from the outside, while the potent attack of the Anchormen began clicking on all cylinders. The Engineers scored just two points during a six-minute stretch of the frame, while Durgin, Williams, Kevin Payette and Davon Yarbrough silenced the crowd with six three’s to give RIC a 61-47 lead.
MIT leading scorer Mike D’Auria tried to keep the Cardinal and Gray in range after sitting out most of the first half with foul trouble. D’Auria scored 10 points in a three-minute span that reduced the Anchormen’s lead to 70-65 with three minutes left in regulation. Despite the comeback bid, Rhode Island College finished 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the final minutes to seal the non-conference road win.
Durgin paced the RIC offense on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Yarbrough scored 15, Payette and Williams each contributed 12, while Kaseem Johnson chipped in 10 to match his team-best 10 rebounds.
D’Auria led all scorers with 22 points. The only other Tech players to reach double figures each recorded their first career double-double. Bartolotta picked up 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Hamidou Soumare scored 11 points while adding an MIT season-high 13 boards.