Fitchburg Trumps Men’s Basketball in MASCAC Opener

Fitchburg, Mass. - The Framingham State University men's basketball team fell at Fitchburg State, 74-52 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action Saturday afternoon at the Parkinson Gymnasium in the conference opener for both teams.

With the win Fitchburg State is now 5-8, 1-0 MASCAC. The Rams are 4-10 and 0-1 in league play.

Fitchburg State jumped to an early 17-3 advantage as junior guard Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.) ignited the run with a three pointer and a layup, while classmate Jonathan Perez (Lowell, Mass,) added eight points as well.

Framingham State chipped away at the deficit (24-11) as sophomore Tyri Hampton (Fitchburg, Mass.) drained a trey as well as connecting on layup before the Falcons answered back with freshman Anthony Allen (East Longmeadow, Mass.) converting a layup, while junior Brandon Harris (San Bernardino, Calif.) sank a pair of free-throws to make the score 35-17 going into the break.

Following the intermission, the Rams cut into the deficit with Hampton knocking down another three ball (27-21), but the Green and Gold answered back as senior Josh Bosworth (Springfield, Mass.) notched a jumper and a free throw to extend the lead to 42-22. 

Fitchburg State upped its advantage (74-47) on a jumper from junior Joshawa Babb (Lynn, Mass.) before Framingham State capped the scoring in the contest as newcomer Trevor Manyak (Bolton, Mass.) buried a trey and a jumper, resulting in the 74-52 final.

Fitchburg State was paced by Bosworth with a team-leading 18 points and four boards, while Perez added 13 points and five rebounds.

For Framingham State, Hampton led all scorers with 23 points and four caroms, while Manyak finished with nine points and a pair of assists.

Fitchburg State shot 24-for-54 (44.4%) from the field and (8-of-22) 36.4.3% from beyond the arc.

Framingham State went 19--for-52 (36.5%) overall and (6-of-18) 33.3% from three point range.

The Falcons finished with a narrow 39-31 margin on the boards, while the Rams finished with 12 points off of 14 forced turnovers.

Falcons will travel to Salem State on Wednesday to take on the Vikings for a contest starting at 7:30 P.M. Rams will host the Lancers of Worcester State on the same day for an 8:00 P.M. tipoff.

*Portions of release courtesy of Fitchburg sports information