Box Score Oneonta, N.Y. –  MIT held off a late second-half Skidmore College comeback for a 62-55 win in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament at Hartwick College.
 
Skidmore, making its second NCAA appearance, ends its record-setting season at 19-9.  Third- ranked MIT  (26-1) moves on to the Pod final for the third straight season.
 
For the Thoroughbreds, senior Terron Victoria hit a key three-pointer late in the game to become the 14^th Skidmore player to reach the 1,000 point career mark.  Kyle Clark scored 14 points, while Gerard O'Shea added 13 points and four assists.
 
Mitchell Kates led MIT with 24 points, 11 rebounds,and eight assists, despite playing the final 11:20 with four fouls.   Noel Hollingsworth scored 17 and Will Tashman added 12.
 
The scrappy Thoroughbreds fought hard to overcome a huge Engineer height advantage, that included seven players listed at 6'- 7” or taller.   
 
The first half featured five lead changes and two ties, with the Thoroughbreds opening an early 9-2 lead behind five points from Clark.  The Engineers fought their way back using a 9-0 run capped by a Billy Bender three to take their first lead, 11-9 with 13:27 to play in the half.
 
The teams traded the lead four more times before an 18-7 MIT run over the final 10:46 to leave it 34-24 at the half.  Skidmore struggled from beyond the arc in the first half, hitting only three of 15 for 20%. MIT dressed seven players 6-foot-7 or taller, and took advantage of the height difference with a 25-15 rebound difference in the half.
 
Skidmore found its range from beyond the arc in the second half, hitting six of its first eight attempts to cut the lead to three 54-51 on the sixth three at  5:37 by  Victoria three for his 1000^th point.  
 
After a made MIT free throw, Clark scored on a lay-up to cut it to 55-53 with 2:44 to play.  That was as close as the Thoroughbreds would get with the Engineers able to run the shot clock down to zero to score or retain possession three times over the final 2:10.   MIT hit five of its six free throws in that span to preserve the 62-55 win.
 
Newspaper Box Score
Skidmore College vs MIT
3-2-2012 5:30 pm at Hartwick College, Lambros Arena
At Hartwick College, Lambros Arena
MIT 62, SKIDMORE COLLEGE 55
SKIDMORE COLLEGE (19-9)
Kyle Clark 6-6 0-0 14; Gerard O'Shea 4-14 3-3 13; Terron Victoria 3-10 0-0
7; Melvis Langyintuo 1-6 2-2 5; Brian Lowry 1-4 1-2 4; Connor Merrill 2-7
0-0 4; John Mantas 1-3 0-0 3; Sakhile Sithole 1-1 0-0 3; Kevin Dahill 1-1
0-0 2; Nanribet Yiljep 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 6-7 55.
MIT (26-1)
Mitchell Kates 8-14 7-10 24; Noel Hollingsworth 7-14 2-3 17; Will Tashman
5-11 2-3 12; Daniel McCue 1-1 0-0 3; Billy Bender 1-3 0-0 3; Dennis Levene
1-2 0-0 2; Andrew Acker 0-0 1-2 1; Paul Dawson 0-0 0-0 0; Jamie Karraker 0-3
0-0 0. Totals 23-48 12-18 62.
Skidmore College..............   24   31  -   55
MIT...........................   34   28  -   62
3-point goals--Skidmore College 9-27 (Gerard O'Shea 2-6; Kyle Clark 2-2;
Sakhile Sithole 1-1; Brian Lowry 1-3; Melvis Langyintuo 1-5; Terron Victoria
1-4; John Mantas 1-3; Connor Merrill 0-3), MIT 4-11 (Billy Bender 1-2;
Daniel McCue 1-1; Mitchell Kates 1-3; Noel Hollingsworth 1-2; Jamie Karraker
0-3). Fouled out--Skidmore College-None, MIT-None. Rebounds--Skidmore
College 23 (Terron Victoria 7), MIT 40 (Will Tashman 15). Assists--Skidmore
College 10 (Gerard O'Shea 4), MIT 11 (Mitchell Kates 8). Total
fouls--Skidmore College 18, MIT 12. Technical fouls--Skidmore College-None,
MIT-None.
NCAA Tournament First Round- MIT advances to second round