Men’s Basketball Knocks Off MIT 61-51 Saturday

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team earned its third-consecutive victory Saturday with a 61-51 win at Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Rockwell Cage.

The Lions elevate to 3-0 on the season while the Engineers move to 2-1 overall.

Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) scored 19 points to lead all players while recording four rebounds and four assists. Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) finished with 16 points and eight boards in his first start of the year. David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) and Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) each notched nine points and five rebounds in the game.

The hosts held a narrow lead through the opening five minutes of action. The visitors claimed a two-point edge with 14:39 remaining on a trey by Justin Wagner. The triple sparked an 8-0 run as Eastern Nazarene established an 18-11 advantage with 10:05 left to play in the first period.

Owens halted MIT's 6-0 run late in the half with a jumper with 1:16 on the clock to push the intermission score to 29-25.

Gomes and Owens each poured in nine points in the first half for Eastern Nazarene.

The Lions sported a field-goal percentage of 37.5% at halftime while draining 3-of-7 from three-point range. The Engineers shot 36.7% from the field in the opening frame including 13.3% from behind the arc.

The guests netted six-straight points to start the second half, widening the gap to 35-25.

After MIT cut the deficit to four with under two minutes left to play, Owens completed a three-point play from the charity stripe with 1:28 remaining in regulation, 56-49.

Eastern Nazarene sank five free throws on eight tries in the final 1:15 while containing the home team to just a pair of free throws to secure the 10-point win.

The Lions shot 40.7% from the floor on the day and 25.0% from beyond the arc. The Engineers connected on 35.8% of their field-goal attempts and were limited to 19.2% shooting from long distance.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene returns to the Lahue Physical Education Center to host Lesley in a non-conference clash November 24.