Worcester, Mass. – Visiting MIT shot a sizzling 62.5 percent from the field and had 21 assists on their 30 baskets as they breezed to a 78-53 win over Clark University in the New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball opener for both teams on Wednesday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center.

The win for the Engineers snapped their brief two-game slide, upping their overall record to 8-3, while the Cougars have dropped back-to-back contests to fall to 5-7.

MIT showed little signs of rust from their 25-day layoff, racing out to a 20-9 lead in the game's first 14 minutes. Clark, meanwhile, started off cold, missing its first six shots and going just 6-for-22 in the opening stanza.

Down, 31-16 at halftime, the Scarlet and White saw their deficit reach as many as 27, as the Engineers torched the nets in the final 20 minutes, connecting on an impressive 79 percent of their baskets (19-for-24).

Clark did rebound from their first half shooting woes to make 14-of-26 shots in the second half, but MIT's extremely efficient offensive attack proved to be too much.

Much of the Engineers effectiveness started with Ryan Frankel (New York, N.Y.), who notched his first career double-double, registering a game-high 19 points and a career-best ten assists. He shot 8-for-10 from the field, with both of his misses coming from behind the three-point line.

Tim Butala (Monroe, Conn.) added 14 points for MIT, who got 11 points apiece from Dennis Levene (Weston, Conn.) and Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.).

Clark got a huge spark off the bench from Corey Gomes (Uxbridge, Mass.), who totaled a career-best 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting – ten of which came in the second half.

Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass.) added 12 points, four rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes for the Cougars, and reserve guard Tyler Huffman (West Hartford, Conn.) added 11.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday with road contests. Clark visits Wheaton at 3:00 p.m., while the Engineers travel to WPI for a 2:00 p.m. tip.