NEW LONDON, Conn. —

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy men's basketball team closed out the first half of their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) schedule by defeating Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 87-80, on Thursday night to earn their first in-conference win of the 2025-26 season. The win also snaps a ten-game losing streak for the Bears.

Coast Guard improves to 5-11 overall and 1-7 against NEWMAC foes, while MIT's fourth consecutive loss drops them to 5-12 and 1-7. The Engineers will look to turn their fortunes around on Saturday, January 24th, when they host reigning conference champions Clark University (10-7, 5-3).

Freshman guard Ashton Kendall (Baltimore, Md.) led the way for the Bears with a career-high 21 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field and 9-for-9 on free throws. Kendall also dished out four assists and nabbed three steals, while his work from the line was the bulk of a 19-for-19 showing on foul shots for the Bears.

Three other Bears added over 15 points in the victory, led by Luke Farrell's (Ortley Beach, N.J.) near double-double of 18 points and nine rebounds. Jordan Frazer (Columbia, S.C.) followed Farrell with 18 points on one of the best shooting shows of his career, draining four threes as part of a 6-for-8 night and making both of his attempts from the line while matching Kendall in steals. Rounding it out was Trevor Parks (Clearwater, Fla.), who built his 15 points with five threes in the first half alongside six rebounds, a block, and a steal.

From the other bench, Isaac Dobie had 23 and Parker Spann added 21 as the only two Engineers in double-digits. Dobie added six boards and a team-high four assists to his night, while Spann and Samuel Chen both picked up three steals. Merlin Gogolin led MIT on the boards with seven rebounds, four of which were pulled down from the offensive glass.

The Bears held a 19-17 lead after both sides slugged through the opening ten minutes, but a 15-0 Coast Guard run, kicked off by six makes in a row from the line, quickly gave the Bears a strong upper hand with 7:17 to go. MIT cut the deficit down to ten by halftime, and they later found themselves trailing 72-73 with 3:32 to go following an 11-0 run of their own. Frazer cut the run with back-to-back scores on a three-pointer and a layup and hit again from three at the 1:10 mark to follow Elijah Parent's (Bristol, Conn.) two charity stripe makes. Kendall closed it out with a perfect 4-for-4 from the line.

Free throw success proved to be the difference maker as both teams went to the line 19 times, with Coast Guard's perfect night and MIT's 12 making up the entire seven-point difference. The Bears also punished their visitors' turnovers, forcing 17 lost balls and converting them into 27 points. On the glad, MIT pulled down 18 offensive rebounds but cashed them in for just 15 second-chance points.

FULL BOX SCORE

Bears men's basketball will be back in action on Saturday, January 24th, as they open the second half of their NEWMAC slate on the road at Emerson College (7-10, 3-5). The Lions were victors via a 96-71 result in the first meeting of the season on December 3rd. Farrell led the Bears with 21 points, while the margin of victory for Emerson marked back-to-back games in which they beat Coast Guard by at least 25 points.