Men’s Basketball Falls to MCLA 68-59

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team lost their fifth in a row as the Rams were defeated 68-59 by MCLA in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action tonight at Framingham's Athletic Center.

With the win, the Trailblazers improve to 5-12 overall on the season and 2-2 in the MASCAC, while the Rams slide to 6-11 overall and are still in search of their first conference victory at 0-5.

MCLA received a strong game from senior forward Jamal Brown (Springfield, Mass.) who picked up a double double with game-highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds.  Brown connected on 9-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-9 from the line.  Junior forward Vernon Cross (Colonie, NY) was the other Trailblazer to reach double figures with 13 points including a trio of three pointers; while junior Richard Johnson (Springfield, Mass.) added seven points and senior Chris Harris (Boston, Mass.) grabbed eight boards.

The Rams were led by freshman forward Andre Santana's (Worcester, Mass.) 13 points, six boards and four assists.  Sophomore Yemi Ajoa (Randolph, Mass.) chipped in 10 points off the bench on 5-of-12 from the field, while juniors Jamie Henderson (Duncanville, TX), Rico DePaolis ((Watertown, Mass.) and Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.) chipped in eight points apiece.  Henderson just missed his first double double of the season as he grabbed 11 boards to go along with his eight points.

After a back and forth first half that saw four ties and a pair of lead changes, the Trailblazers held a slim 33-29 lead at the half behind Brown's 13 first half points.  The Rams cut the lead down to two (35-33) on a pair of Henderson free throws just under a minute into the second, but the Trailblazers responded with a 14-4 run over the next six minutes to take the game's largest lead, 49-37, with 13:44 on the clock.  The Rams were able to pull within six on two occasions, but each time the Trailblazers were able to push the lead back to double digits before eventually settling on the nine point victory.

The Rams return to action on Saturday afternoon when they host Westfield at 3 p.m., while the Trailblazers also return to action on Saturday when they host Fitchburg State 3 p.m.