Framingham State Rams Fitchburg State, 69-65

Kimber leads four Falcons in double-figures with team-best 14 points

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (January 29, 2011) – The Fitchburg State men’s basketball team recorded four players in double figures but the Falcons fell to Framingham State University, 69-65 in MASCAC action this afternoon.

Junior Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) paced the Falcons, posting a team-best 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and a 5-of-6 effort from the line, while sophomore Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass./Douglas) and senior Robert Hopkins (East Hartford, Conn./RHAM) added 13 points apiece. Senior Elliot Knower (Baldwinville, Mass./Narragansett) was also solid, chipping in with ten points and four rebounds.

JEREMY KIMBER

Junior Marcus Mclaurin (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) led the Rams posting  22 points, six rebounds and two steals, while freshman Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass./Revere) connected on 7-of-10 from the floor for a career-high 19 points and four boards. Senior Anthony Pappagallo (Malden, Mass./Revere) was the only other Ram to record double figures with 13 points including four 3-pointers.

With the score tied at 12-12 with 8:53 remaining in the first half, the Rams rattled off an 8-0 run fueled by a three from Pappagallo and a pair of lay-ups by Mclaurin to take a 20-12 lead with 5:52 remaining. The Rams maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the half eventually taking a 30-24 advantage into the break.

In the second half, the Rams extended the lead to as many as 12 on three occasions including a 54-42 lead with 6:48 remaining. The Falcons countered with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to pull within three at 58-55 with 2:52 left. 

Framingham State pushed the lead back to nine (67-58) on a pair of free throws by senior Royce Veal (Dorchester, Mass.) with 37 seconds remaining, but a Hopkins 3-pointer cut the Falcons’ deficit to six with 25 seconds on the clock.  The Falcon defense forced a five second call against the Rams and Knower scored a layup off the ensuing inbounds play to cut the lead to four. 

Framingham State guard Rico DePaolis (Watertown, Mass.) hit 1-of-2 from the line to push the lead back to five, but the Falcons still had a chance as Hopkins was fouled on a three point attempt.  Hopkins nailed the first two, missed the third but grabbed his own rebound and was fouled again with 15 ticks on the clock and the Falcons down three. 

Fitchburg State (3-14, 0-6 MASCAC) will be in action again on Tuesday as it travels to Newbury College at 7 p.m.. Framingham State (8-9, 4-2 MASCAC) will travel to Bridgewater State University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

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Framingham State 69, Fitchburg State 65