Men’s Basketball Victorious over UMass Boston in Consolation Game, 70-66
Boston, MA - Senior forward Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, Mass.) scored a game-high 24 points to lead Framingham State College past University of Massachusetts Boston, 70-66, this afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center on the campus of UMass Boston in the Harbor Invitational consolation match-up. Framingham State improves to 2-4 overall while the loss drops UMass Boston down to 1-4 on the year.
Almodovar shot 66.7% from the floor (8-12) and was perfect from behind the arc (2-2) and the free throw stripe (6-6) to help the Rams pull off a come-from-behind victory over the Beacons. Almodovar also added eight rebounds in the victory.
With 3:29 remaining in the first half, junior forward Ernst Jean (Malden, Mass.) connected on two free throws to give UMass Boston its largest lead of the afternoon, 30-21. A last second three by Framingham's senior guard Darius Yarrell (Brockton, Mass.) cut the Beacons lead to five, making it a 36-31 halftime score.
The Rams chipped away early in the second half before taking control of the action. A layup by junior forward Pat Joseph (Queens, NY) put UMass Boston on top 41-38 with 14:35 to play before Framingham State went on a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 52-41 lead.
Freshman guard Michael Mitchell Jr. (Boston, Mass.) did all he could to keep the Beacons in the game, scoring seven late second half points, but it was not enough to overcome the lead the Rams had amassed.
Jean ended the afternoon with a team-high 21 points to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Mitchell finished the game with 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. Junior guard Mo Johnson (Portland, OR) scored 14 points including four trifectas while Joseph contributed with nine points and seven rebounds.
For Framingham, senior guard Chad Dixon (Brockton, Mass.) netted 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and swatted away two shots in the win. Also scoring in double figures for the Rams was junior guard Royce Veal (Dorchester, Mass.) recording 10 points in the consolation game victory.
Framingham State hosts Brandeis on Thursday, December 3 at 6 p.m., while UMass Boston travels the same day to Suffolk University for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
The 2009 25th Annual UMass Boston Harbor
Invitational All-Tournament Team:
Michael Mitchell Jr., G - UMass Boston (22.0
ppg., 6.5 rpg., 5.0 apg., 1.5 spg., 14-30 FG, 2-6 3PT FG, 14-18
FT)
Josue Almodovar, F - Framingham State (15.0 ppg., 7.5
rpg., 1.5 spg., 1.0 apg., 10-23 FG, 2-3 3PT FG, 8-9 FT)
Keith Jones, G - Mount Ida (26.0 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 3.5 apg.,
1.5 spg., 18-37 FG, 9-21 3PT FG, 7-8 FT)
Blake Touchard, G - Embry-Riddle (13 ppg., 5.5 rpg., 5.0
apg., 2.0 spg., 8-18 FG, 2-7 3PT FG, 8-8 FT)
David Butler, F - Embry-Riddle (12 ppg., 11.5 rpg., 5.5
bpg., 2.0 apg., 1.0 spg., 9-17 FG, 6-7 FT)
Tournament MVP:
Eric Lorenzi, F - Embry-Riddle (16.5 ppg., 5.5 rpg., 1.5
apg., 1.5 spg., 11-22 FG, 7-12 3PT FG, 4-4 FT)
John "Bill" Shay Award for exemplary sportsmanship and
competition:
Darren Martinez, G - Mount Ida
Release courtesy of UMass Boston Sports Information.