Men's Basketball's Comeback Falls Short at Fitchburg State

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's basketball defeated the Rams of Framingham State University, 59-54, in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at Parkinson Gymnasium.

After a strong first half of play, Fitchburg State carried a nine point advantage into the locker room behind a 12 point effort from junior Kwame Lee. The Falcons opened the contest with an early seven point lead (12-5) and later carried that lead to 12 with a three pointer from Lee and jumper by classmate Jalen Williams.

The Rams rallied late in the half though, closing its deficit to five (27-22) on a pair of trey's from sophomores Daniel Gould and Patrick Gould before Williams and junior Givaughn Jones ended the half with a pair of jumpers to take a 31-22 advantage into intermission.

In the second half, Fitchburg State maintained a nine point margin though the 13 minute mark, but Framingham State answered, posting an 8-0 run to inch within one (39-38) as junior guard Joe McCabe knocked down a pair of shots from beyond the arc, while freshman Tony Alexandre started the run with a layup at the 12:34 mark.

The Falcons would answer with a 6-0 spurt of their own on baskets by Lee, Williams and junior Anthony Muccioli to regain a seven point lead.  With the score 55-49, Framingham State responded with 5-1 stretch to make it a two point game (56-54) with just 11 seconds remaining, but the Green and Gold put the game away with pair of free throws by Muccioli and one from Lee, resulting in the 59-54 final.

Alexandre led the Rams scoring attack with a team-best 13 points and seven rebounds, while junior Tim McCarthy was also solid with ten points, six caroms and three assists. Patrick Gould rounded out the top three scorers for the visitors, collecting ten points, three boards and five assists in the setback.

For Fitchburg State, Lee led all scorers, totaling a game-high 19 points with 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-3 shooting from downtown, while Williams added a double-double of ten points and ten caroms. Mucciloli and Jones were also strong for the Falcons, posting 13 and 11 points respectively for the Green and Gold.

For the game, The Falcons controlled the glass, holding a narrow 32-27 margin, while also finishing with a 28-26 advantage in point in the paint. Fitchburg State shot 46.8% from the field, including 5-of-10 from three point range, while Framingham State finished 43.1% from the floor and 9-of-30 from beyond the arc.

Fitchburg State (12-7, 4-3 MASCAC) will be back in action on Thursday as it visits Salem State University at 7:30 p.m. Framingham State (5-14, 0-8 MASCAC) will host Bridgewater State on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Release courtesy of Fitchburg State Sports Information.