Men’s Basketball Earns Tough Fought Victory Over Wheaton
Framingham, Mass.- The Framingham State men's basketball team defeated Wheaton College by a score of 67-63 in a back-and-forth contest that saw six lead changes and eight ties. The Rams improve to 2-3 on the season while the Lyons fall to 3-3.
The Rams were led offensively by Patrick Gould (Quincy, Mass.) who scored a team-high 17 points shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. Tony Alexandre (Hyde Park, Mass.) added 14 points shooting 6-for-10 from the floor while Manny Payton (Fitchburg, Mass.) added 13 points.
The Lyons received a game-high 20 points from Ryan Fogarty (Walpole, Mass.) who shot 8-for-13 from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range. Duaka Ekwensi (Morris Plains, NJ) added 12 points while Riley Tetreault (Walpole, Mass.) added nine points.
The Rams seemed to hold the lead for most of the contest but never lead by more than 7. About halfway through the 2nd half the Lyons seemed to capture the momentum taking a three point lead but then Alexandre took over for the Rams scoring 7 straight points on a 7-0 run as the Rams pulled back ahead 58-54.
The Lyons fought back to tie the game at 61 with just over three minutes to play. Rams senior Tim Mangano (Winchester, Mass.) scored back-to-back baskets, his first points of the game, to take the lead that the Rams would not relinquish.
Wheaton trailed by 2 points in the final minute and went for the win but the three-pointer was missed and rebounded by the Rams leading to a foul. Payton hit both of his free throws to reach the final margin.
The Rams shot 23-of-51 from the floor and 7-for-14 from long range. The Lyons shot 27-of-54 from the field and 9-for-21 from downtown.
The Rams return to action on Thursday, December 1st when they host WPI. The Lyons are back on the hardwood on Saturday, December 3rd when they host Worcester State.