Cambridge, Mass. - January 17, 2015 - Senior guard Nick Sienkiewicz (Cranston, R.I.) netted 14 points for the Springfield College men's basketball team, but the Pride fell to MIT, 74-54, on Saturday afternoon at the Rockwell Cage.

With the win, MIT improves to 11-3 overall and remains unbeaten in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and now stands at 4-0. With the loss, Springfield falls to 9-6 on the year and 1-3 in league play.

Sienkiewicz was the only Springfield player to reach double figures in scoring, with junior guard Larry Piretra (Oakland, N.J.) leading the Pride with five rebounds. Springfield shot 16-for-42 (38.1%) from the field, while the Engineers were 28-for-52 (53.8%) on the day.

After a jumper from Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.) gave the Engineers a 7-4 lead, freshman forward Brandon Eckles (East Greenwich, R.I.) converted a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to pull the Pride even at seven apiece. From there, Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y.) found Andrew Acker (Merion Station, Pa.) for a lay-up, before Tim Butala (Monroe, Conn.) converted a pair from the free-throw line to give MIT a four-point lead, which they would hold until Piretra brought Springfield back to within one with a three-pointer at the 7:34 mark of the first half.

The Engineers would go on to score 11 unanswered points over the next 6:01 to take a 26-14 lead, before senior guard Josh Altman (Rockport, Mass.) hit a lay-up underneath the basket to end the run.

Springfield got the MIT lead back into single figures in the final seconds of the half on a Sienkiewicz jumper, but senior Dennis Levene (Weston, Conn.) nailed a three-pointer with five ticks left to put the Engineers on top 32-20 at the half.

 A three from Pedley had MIT up by 15 early in the second half, but the Engineers missed on its next six shots from the field. That gave Springfield an opening, and the Pride took advantage and put together a 10-0 run to get back into it. Eight points of the run came from the free throw line, including four points from Sienkiewicz, and when Eckles hit a pair from the line at the 15:15 mark the Pride was within five at 37-32.

Pedley broke the scoring drought for MIT with a trey before Butala and Pedley drained two more triples that enabled the Engineers to answer the Springfield run with a 12-0 run of their own. It ended midway through the half with a Frankel free throw that had MIT on top, 49-32.

Springfield narrowed the gap to 11 points three times the rest of the way but could get no closer. A layup from Altman had the Pride within 11 at 60-49 with 4:20 left, but Butala hit two more threes inside of a minute and the Engineers went on to close out the contest on an 11-3 run.

The Pride will resume play on Wednesday, January 21 when it will host Coast Guard at 7 p.m.