Images from the championship weekend

March 19, 2012

A banner at the Salem Civic Center shows the MIT Men's Basketball team's path of victories to advance for the first time in the program's history to the NCAA Division III Championship this weekend in Salem, Virginia.

Photo: Tom Gearty

The Engineers, ranked #3 in the country in Division III, entered the Final Four as the top-ranked team remaining in the tournament. On Thursday, the team attended a shoot-around at the Salem Civic Center to get a feel for the court.

Photo: Tom Gearty

The championship weekend featured a banquet for all the teams. Team captain and senior guard Dan McCue introduced the MIT team and its season to the crowd of players and coaches.

Photo: Tom Gearty

The MIT players were focused on taking care of business, on and off the court. Here, junior guard Cuong Nguyen works on a problem set in a hotel lounge on the morning of the big game.

Photo: Tom Gearty

The tournament semi-final was on Friday, and MIT was in the second game of the night. During the first game, the Engineers watched and waited in the wings with faculty mentor and MIT professor Kim Vandiver (center). Cabrini College advanced to the championship by defeating Illinois-Wesleyan University, 81-78, in a down-to-the-wire thriller.

Photo: Tom Gearty

The MIT Alumni Association's hospitality room was crowded with alumni, parents, and other fans who traveled to Salem to cheer on the Engineers as they took on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the semi-finals.

Photo: Tom Gearty

MIT players from all generations traveled to Salem to cheer on the team that followed in their footsteps. Former NCAA Division III Player of the Year Jimmy Bartolotta, who now plays in professionally in Europe, returned stateside to watch the game with MIT President Susan Hockfield and David Koch '62, who graduated as MIT's all-time scoring leader and currently ranks second in career scoring average at 21 points per game.

Photo: Tom Gearty

Senior guard Jamie Karraker peeks out at the arena just minutes before game time. During this season, Karraker was among the nation's top three-point shooters and set records at MIT for three-points shots in a single game and season totals.

Photo: Tom Gearty

Senior guard Billy Bender, who was injured in an early NCAA game and sat out the previous weekend's competition, returned to play in his final game for MIT. Bender chipped in 11 points and went three for five from behind the arc.

Photo: Tom Gearty

Junior forward Will Tashman contributed his fourth double-double of the tournament, scoring 15 points and hauling in 11 rebounds.

Photo: Tom Gearty

MIT students made their way to Salem to show their support for the team. The MIT section was filled with parents, professors, students, alumni, and staff cheering for the Engineers.

Photo: Tom Gearty

One Roanoke family with no connection to MIT was so intrigued by the Engineers success in the tournament that they decided to come to the game to root for Tech with taped-up glasses and a slide rule.

Photo: Tom Gearty

Freshman point guard Paul Dawson came of the bench to contribute 5 points and solid defense, including this steal from Wisconsin-Whitewater's Charlie Fischer in the first half.

Photo: Tom Gearty

Freshmen forward Andrew Acker also played well on defense, but the Engineers could not find a way to contain Wisconsin star and Division III Player of the Year Chris Davis, who scored 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting.

Photo: Tom Gearty

Wisconsin-Whitewater's nationally ranked defense held Tech to an uncharacteristically low 39.4 shooting percentage as a team and hampered junior center Noel Hollingsworth and other players in the paint.

Photo: Tom Gearty

The Engineers played hard, but could not put together the offense to overcome the Wisconsin-Whitewater team, which defeated Cabrini on Saturday to take the national title.

Photo: Tom Gearty

After the game, fans like freshman Ethan Klein, the team's manager, had to balance their disappointment with pride at the team's spectacular season. The Engineers finished at 29-2, the best record in program history, and advanced to the Final Four for the first time.

Photo: Tom Gearty

Junior guard Mitchell Kates showed why he is one of the nation's top point guards during the tournament, turning in a series of spectacular performances that earned him a spot on the D3Hoops.com All-American roster after the championship.

Photo: Tom Gearty

At a reception after the game, Head Coach Larry Anderson and the players thanked the families, alumni, and fans who came to cheer them on.

Photo: Tom Gearty

After a 31-game schedule and three weeks of NCAA tournament play, the team finally had a chance to relax with family and friends and to reflect on a championship season. Here, Jamie Karraker laughs with his parents, sister, and friend.

Photo: Tom Gearty

The Engineers graduate just two starters, and players and coaches say they are already looking to return to the NCAA tournament next year for another chance to become national champions.

Photo: Tom Gearty

The No. 3 ranked MIT men's basketball team's 2011-12 season came to an end on Friday night with a 71-56 setback at the hands of the No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the NCAA Division III semifinals in Salem, Va. The Engineers, who set new Institute records for wins in a season and winning percentage while advancing to their first-ever Final Four, shot just 39.6 percent from the field in the loss. Tech finishes at 29-2 overall and made the trip to Salem in its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament.

Read the full recap