Men’s Basketball Holds Off Late Surge by Fitchburg State for 69-65 Victory
Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team held off a late charge by Fitchburg State to pick up a 69-65 win this afternoon in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action. With the win, the Rams improve to 8-9 on the year and 4-2 in conference, while the Falcons fall to 3-14 overall and 0-6 in the MASCAC.
Junior guard Marcus Mclaurin (Braintree, Mass.) led the Rams filling up the stat sheet with 22 points, six rebounds and two steals. Freshman Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.) connected on 7-of-10 from the floor for a career-high 19 points and four boards, while senior guard Anthony Pappagallo (Malden, Mass.) was the only other Ram to record double figures with 13 points including four 3-pointers. Senior forward Brendan Carter (South Boston, Mass.) led the Rams on the glass with a game-high 12 boards, while junior James McCarthy (Newton, Mass.) chipped in a team-high three assists.
The Falcons were led by junior guard Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg, Mass.) who scored a team-high 14 points, while Robert Hopkins (East Hartford, Conn.) and Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass.) chipped in 13 points apiece. Valliere picked up a double double with a team-high 10 boards, while Elliot Knower (Baldwinville, Mass.) added 10 points.
With the score tied at 12-12 with 8:53 remaining in the first half, the Rams rattled off an 8-0 run fueled by a three from Pappagallo and a pair of lay-ups by Mclaurin to take a 20-12 lead with 5:52 remaining. The Rams maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the half eventually taking a 30-24 advantage into the break.
In the second half, the Ram extended the lead to as many as 12 on three occasions including a 54-42 lead with 6:48 remaining. The Falcons countered with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to pull within three at 58-55 with 2:52 left.
The Rams pushed the lead back to nine (67-58) on a pair of free throws by senior Royce Veal (Dorchester, Mass.) with 37 seconds remaining, but a Hopkins 3-pointer cut the Falcons' deficit to six with 25 seconds on the clock. The Falcon defense forced a five second call against the Rams and Knower scored a layup off the ensuing inbounds play to cut the lead to four.
Framingham State guard Rico DePaolis (Watertown, Mass.) hit 1-of-2 from the line to push the lead back to five, but the Falcons still had a chance as Hopkins was fouled on a three point attempt. Hopkins nailed the first two, missed the third but grabbed his own rebound and was fouled again with 15 ticks on the clock and the Falcons down three. Hopkins missed both and Figueroa was fouled going after the rebound. He had a chance to seal the win at the line for the Rams and hit 1-of-2 to push the lead back to four. Kimber missed a three in the closing seconds for the Falcons to preserve the win for the Rams.
Both teams return to the hardwood on Tuesday as the Rams travel to Bridgewater State at 7:30 p.m., while the Falcons travel to Newbury College at 7 p.m.