Mount Ida Runs Past Fitchburg State, 74-61

Muccioli paces Falcons with game-best 19 points and six caroms

FITCHBURG, Mass. (December 5, 2013) – Sophomore Anthony Muccioli (Nashua, N.H.) registered a game-best 19 points with 9-of-22 shooting this evening, but the Fitchburg State men's basketball team fell to the visiting Mustangs of Mount Ida College, 74-61 at the Fitchburg State Recreation Center.

Fitchburg State built an eight point cushion at the break and went up by as many as ten during the second period, but Mount Ida pushed through with a late surge to earn its second victory of the season. Junior Everett Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the Mustang offense, posting 19 points and seven rebounds on the night, while sophomore Cam Walker (New Bedford, Mass.), Kenny Jean (Dorchester, Mass.) and Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.) all notched double-figures with 15 points, 13 points and 13 points respectively.

Muccioli paced the Falcons attack with 19 points, six boards and five assists, while sophomore Josh Imadiyi (Lynn, Mass.) added a near double-double with 13 points and nine caroms. Sophomore Brian Weihn (Clinton, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points and five boards off the bench.  

In the first half, Fitchburg State opened an eight point lead at the break (33-25), using a pair of ten point efforts from Muccioli and Imadiyi. The Falcons used a 16-1 run midway through the frame to break open an eight point advantage, using four baskets from Muccioli and buckets from both Lincoln Wright (Brockton, Mass.) and Imadiyi.

The Falcons extended their lead to nine with a three pointer from Josh Stambovsky (Longmeadow, Mass.) but the Mustangs crept back slowly, closing to within two (27-25) with a 10-3 run over the next six minutes of play. Fitchburg State closed the half strong though as Muccioli, Mo Molin (Brockton, Mass.) and Imadiyi connected for three consecutive buckets.

The second half proved to be a different story as Mount Ida came out flying, closing within one by the 13:59 mark. Tyree Singletary (Newark, N.J.) sparked the rally with a trey at the 17:24 mark, before Walker rifled off five consecutive points to bring the Mustangs within one (38-37).

The Falcons withstood the Mustang heat and inched their lead back up to six with five points from Muccioli, but Mount Ida would string together a 18-6 run to go up by seven (60-43) with just 4:45 remaining in the contest. The Mustangs sealed the victory down the stretch as a three from Ramirez and a pair of free-throws from Macklin found their mark.

For the game, Mount Ida dominated the boards, holding a 52-37 margin, including a 20-13 advantage on the offensive glass. Both teams shot near 38.0% for the night, while the free-throw line proved to be the difference maker with Mount Ida connecting on 17 attempts in the contest.

Fitchburg State (0-6, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it visits WPI at 2 p.m. Mount Ida (2-5, 0-0 GNAC) will travel to Anna Maria College on Saturday at 3 p.m.