Westfield State Holds Off Men's Basketball 81-77

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team last minute comeback fell short as the Rams were defeated 81-77 by Westfield State University this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Athletic Center. 

THE BASICS:

- Score:  Westfield State 81, Framingham State 77

- Records: Framingham State (2-14, 1-3 MASCAC), Westfield State (10-6, 3-0 MASCAC)

- Location: Athletic Center – Framingham, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Owls opened up a ten point lead, 18-8, just under seven minutes into the game. They received 12 points on the run, including the 1000^th of his collegiate career on an elbow jumper with 13:19 on the clock, from junior Jauch Green (Hartford, Conn.).
• The Rams closed the gap to six, 21-15, on a three from senior Manny Payton (Fitchburg, Mass.) with just under 12 remaining in the first.
• The Owls extended the lead back to 10 on a three from senior Peter Mafo (Uxbridge, Mass.) with just over 10 on the clock.
• The Rams slowly chipped away at the lead cutting it to four on multiple occasions including on a layup from freshman Tomas Donoyan (Belmont, Mass.). 
• A three point play from Green pushed the lead to 35-28 with just over six remaining in the half, but the Rams closed the frame with a 12-2 run, including four points from junior Tyri Hampton (Fitchburg, Mass.) and a three from Payton taking a 40-37 edge into the locker room.
• The Owls tied the game at 47-47 just over six minutes into the second half.  The Rams pushed the lead back to four, 55-51, on a three by Hampton, but the Owls tied the game at 55-55 on a jumper from senior Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass.) with just over 10 remaining.
• Westfield led by as many as five, 68-63, on a three point play from Mafo with 4:29 on the clock.
• Framingham State tied the game and went ahead one on a four point play from Payton. Payton connected on a deep three on the left wing and was fouled. The three tied the game and the free throw put the Rams on top 69-68 with 3:13 on the clock.
• A tip in from sophomore Christopher Prophet (Springfield, Mass.) with 2:09 on the clock put the Owls in the lead for good.
• The Owls led by as many as 77-70 in the final minute, but the Rams would not go away quietly.  A pair of free throws from Payton cut the deficit to 77-72 with 22.2 on the clock.
• The Rams fouled and the Owls missed both. Hampton was fouled on the rebound and sank both cutting the deficit to 77-74 with 20.4 remaining.
• Mafo hit two for the Owls pushing lead back to five, but a Payton three with 1.6 on the clock cut the deficit to 79-77.  After a timeout, the Rams were called for an intentional foul and Prophet sank a pair sealing the win for the Owls.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Payton finished with a game-high 34 points connecting on 11-of-25 from the floor including five-of-eight from behind the arc. Payton, who surpassed 1,000 career collegiate points earlier this year, recorded his 1000^th point in a Ram uniform on a free throw with 11:50 remaining in the second half.
• Hampton finished the game with a double double of 17 points and 12 boards, while sophomore Cameren McCloud-Thomas (Springfield, Mass.) added 15 points and seven boards.
• Green who reached the 1,000 collegiate career point mark in the first half finished the game with 27 points and nine rebounds before fouling out late in the second half. Green scored 674 points during his time at Western Connecticut and has scored over 340 with the Owls.
• Prophet finished the game with 18 points for the Owls, while Mafo chipped in with 13 off the bench.

UP NEXT:                   

Both teams resume MASCAC action on Saturday afternoon with the Rams hosting Bridgewater State at 1 p.m. and the Owls hosting Salem State also at 12 p.m.