Men’s Basketball Falls Short against UMaine Ft. Kent, 55-54

Framingham, Mass. – Senior James Givens sank a pair of free throws with 8.4 seconds remaining to lift the University of Maine Fort Kent to a 55-54 victory over the host Framingham State University Rams in non-conference men's basketball action this evening at the Athletic Center.   

With the win, the Bengals are now 12-15 on the year, while the Rams see their record dip to 6-17.

The Rams led for the majority of the first half until the two teams traded the lead three times in the final two minutes with the Bengals eventually taking a one point lead into the break on a Marquis Glenn layup with nine seconds remaining.  The Rams led by as many as seven earlier in the frame as sophomore Matt Diver (Abington, Mass.) picked up a block on the defensive end and then a bucket in the paint on the other end of the floor.

After the two teams traded the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, the Bengals used a 10-0 run fueled by a pair of Givens threes to take their largest lead (47-38) with just under 10 remaining. The Rams chipped away at the lead tying the game at 51-51 on a Tim McCarthy (Wilmington, Mass.) with 1:37 on the clock. 

After a Bengal turnover, McCarthy put the Rams on top 54-51 with a long three from the top of the key.  Qaadir Ali sank a pair of free throws on the Bengals ensuing possession cutting the lead back to one with 46 seconds showing on the clock. 

After the Rams worked the shot clock down, Joe McCloskey came up with a block for the Bengals on the defensive end and the Rams committed a foul in transition sending Givens to the line with 8.4 left.  Givens sank both to put the visitors on top by one and after a timeout the Rams could not get a good look as time expired.

Junior Joe McCabe (Canton, Mass.) paced the Rams with 14 points, three rebounds and five assists, while McCarthy finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 from behind the arc.  Freshman Tony Alexandre (Hyde Park, Mass.) notched a double double of 10 points and 11 boards.

The Bengals were led by a game-best 17 points off the bench for Givens who connected on 5-of-7 from behind the arc, while Glenn and Ali finished with 10 points apiece.  McCloskey was the visitors leading rebounder with 10 caroms.

The Rams are back in action Thursday night with a non-conference contest against Fisher College beginning at 6 p.m., and close out the regular season on Saturday in a MASCAC showdown at Worcester State.