Men’s Basketball Wins Overtime Thriller 86-85 Over Colby-Sawyer
Framingham, Mass. – Sophomore forward Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.) drove the lane and sank a layup in traffic with five seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Framingham State University men's basketball team to an 86-85 victory over the Colby-Sawyer Chargers in non-conference action this evening at Framingham's Athletic Center.
With the win, the Rams move to 3-2 on the year, while the Chargers fall to 1-3 with the loss.
The Rams jumped out to a quick 11-6 lead to start the game, but Chargers responded with a 14-5 run to take their largest lead of the half (20-16) midway through the frame. The Rams answered with an 18-5 run of their own fueled by seven points from Figueroa and six from senior guard Marcus McLaurin (Braintree, Mass.) to take the largest lead of the game at 34-25 with 2:54 on the clock. Framingham State would eventually take a 38-32 advantage into the locker room.
In the second half, neither team led by more than four with the lead changing hands five times. The Rams led 73-71 with under a minute remaining on a three pointer by junior guard Rico DePaolis (Watertown, Mass.), but the Chargers answered with a pair of free throws by freshman Mike Dias (Carver, Mass.) to tie the score with 43 seconds left.
After a Rams turnover in the back court, senior James Tobin (Brookline, NH) was fouled and hit one of two to put the Chargers back in front with 33.3 on the clock. On their ensuing possession the Rams once again turned the ball over and after a foul, Will Bardaglio (Wayne, ME) sank a pair of free throws to extend the Charger lead to three with 19.6 left. The Rams called timeout and worked the ball around the perimeter with Figueroa ending up with the ball at the top. Figueroa took a dribble to his right and sank the game-tying three. The Chargers pushed the ball down the floor and Bardaglio had a good look at three as time expired in regulation, but the ball rattled off the rim forcing overtime.
In the extra session, the Rams took a quick lead on another three by DePaolis but the Chargers responded and took their own three point lead on a three point play by Bardaglio with 3:06 remaining.
A Figueroa free throw and McLaurin three pointer put the Rams ahead by one (84-83) with 38.9 left in the overtime. The Chargers worked the ball around and Koang Thok (Portland, ME) was fouled with less than ten seconds remaining on the shot clock and only 17.6 left in overtime. Thok sank both putting the Chargers back in the lead and setting the stage for Figueroa's game winning bucket.
Figueroa finished with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-15 from the floor to go along with a game-high 13 boards, three steals and three assists. Freshman forward Andre Santana (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, while McLauring and sophomore forward Yemi Ajao (Randolph, Mass.) finished with 12 and 10 respectively.
The Chargers were led by Tobin who finished with a team-high 18 points to go along with nine boards and three assists. Dias finished with a double double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Bardaglio and Thok finished with 15 points apiece.
The Rams return to action on Friday against Trinity at the UMass Boston Harbor Tournament at 5:30 p.m., while the Chargers return to action next Tuesday as they host Norwich at 7:30 p.m.