Men's Basketball State Surges Past Fitchburg State, 64-52

Fitchburg, Mass. - Senior forward Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, Mass.) led all scorers with a game-high 16 points and eight boards, shooting 5-of-13 from the field and 6-of-10 from the free-throw line to lead the Framingham State College men's basketball team to a 64-52 win over Fitchburg State in the MASCAC opener for both teams.

Framingham State held a slim two point lead after the break (28-26), but used a pair of scoring runs throughout the second half to pick up its fifth victory of the season. The Rams opened the second half on fire, posting an 11-4 run in the opening three minutes, before taking a comfortable 14 point margin with a 13-4 surge over the final four minutes of play.

Fitchburg State battled back from a nine point deficit at the 16:56 mark of the second, stringing together ten unanswered points to grab a 40-39 lead, but the Falcons lead was short-lived as the Rams rifled off their own 10-0 run to regain an eight point margin (51-43). Framingham continued to pad its lead down the stretch, converting 5-of-6 free-throws to seal its first MASCAC victory.

Senior center Roderick Jackson (Cambridge, Mass.) was also strong for the visitors with 11 points and eight caroms, while senior Darius Yarrell (Brockton, Mass.) finished with ten points and three steals.

Rolffi Canela (Perth Amboy, N.J.) paced the Falcons attack with his team-best 11 points, hitting 3-of-5 from downtown, while senior Colin London (Worcester, Mass.) barely missed a double-double with 11 points, eight boards and four assists. Freshman Blake Sheldon (Westminster, Mass.) rounded out the Falcons top three scorers with eight points.

Fitchburg State (3-9, 0-1 MASCAC) will be in action again next Saturday as it hosts Bridgewater State at 3 p.m. Framingham State (5-6, 1-0 MASCAC) will travel to Bridgewater State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.