Cambridge, Mass. – January 28, 2026 – The Springfield College men's basketball team completed the season sweep over New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival MIT as the Pride topped the Engineers 79-69 on Wednesday night in Rockwell Cage.

Springfield improved to 7-12 overall and to 5-5 in NEWMAC play, while MIT dropped to 5-14, 1-9.

Josh Hartley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) dropped a team-high 16 points, while Josiah Evely (Toronto, Ontario)recorded 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Ajay Lopes (Wareham, Mass.)returned the court and poured in 12 points to go along with four assists and two rebounds, while Zachary Campbell (Philadelphia, Pa.) pitched in with ten points and four rebounds for the Pride.

Springfield shot 52.5-percent as a team, its second-highest mark of the season only behind its 54.2-percent performance against Wheaton on December 3. The Pride also went 5-for-10 from behind the arc and 12-for-18 from the free throw line. The Pride held a 36-34 edge on the glass, scored 46 points in the paint and turned 15 MIT turnovers into 21 points.

Springfield scored the first five points of the game on an Evely free throw and back-to-back layups from Hartley, but MIT responded with 18 of the next 22 points for an 18-9 advantage midway through the first. Over the spurt, MIT shot 7-for-11 from the floor, made three shots from behind the arc and received ten of its 18 points from Wyatt Mowery. Mowery knocked down two straight threes to ignite the run.

MIT led by as many as 14 at 27-13 with 6:23 left in the first following a trey from Isaac Dobie, but just two minutes later a layup from Hartley, who finished the and-one play ignited a run of ten straight points for the Pride that pulled the visitors within four with just over a minute left in the opening half. MIT took an eventual 31-25 edge into the break.

Springfield opened the second by scoring nine of the first 11 points of the half for a 34-33 edge just minutes into the stanza. The run was emphasized by a dunk in transition by Evely off the hands of Cedric Rodriguez (Burlington, Mass.). John Paulino (New Bedford, Mass.) buried a three beginning another 10-3 spurt for the Pride that was capped with a jumper by Rodriguez for a 44-39 lead.

MIT was able to regain the lead with ten minutes left in regulation following a three by Michael Zhang at 53-52, but Hunter Matteson (Dartmouth, Mass.) answered with a layup off a pass from Lopes to give Springfield a lead it wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the game. Matteson's layup was the first of nine consecutive points for the Pride, however, the hosts were able to pull back within three on two occasions – once after a three from Zhang at 67-64 and once after a pair of free throws by Mowery with under two minutes to play. 

Xoren Livingston (Wayland, Mass.) answered the free throws with a four point play as he knocked down a three off the hands of Lopes and converted the free throw to go ahead 73-66. MIT wasn't able to get any closer as the Pride knocked down four of five free throws over the final 1:12 of the game to complete the sweep with a 79-69 victory.

Springfield will travel to Coast Guard on Saturday for a 1:00 pm start.

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