Falcons Hold on for OT Triumph over Framingham State
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (10-3, 2-0 MASCAC) | 28 | 30 | 5 | 63 |
|
Framingham St. (5-8, 0-2 MASCAC) | 31 | 27 | 3 | 61 |
Falcons improve to 2-0 in conference play with overtime win over Rams
Framingham, Mass. – Junior Keyon Armstrong tied the game in the final minute of regulation and hit the game-winning shot in overtime as the Fitchburg State University men's basketball escaped with a 63-61 overtime victory over the Framingham State Rams this afternoon in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Athletic Center.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 10-3 on the year and move to 2-0 in the conference, while the Rams fall to 5-8 overall and are now 0-2 in the MASCAC.
Trailing by one with 11:26 left in the first, the Rams rattled off a 9-0 run with all nine points coming from behind the arc to take their largest lead of the half (18-11). Fitchburg State answered with a run of their own knotting the game at 21-21 with just over six minutes remaining, but the Rams, who connected on six threes in the first half, were able to take a 31-28 lead at the break.
The Rams fell behind 32-31 in the opening minutes of the second half, but used an 18-7 run to take the game's largest lead, 49-39, with eight minutes remaining.
The Falcons chipped away at the lead pulling within one on a Leonny Burgos free throw with 2:15 remaining. A three point play from senior Patrick Cuff pushed the Rams' lead back to four. After misses from both teams, the Falcons had possession. Armstrong converted a four point play draining a long three and the ensuing free throw after he was fouled tying the game 58-58 with 59.9 on the clock.
The Rams missed a three with the shot clock expiring and the Falcons missed on the ensuing possession sending the game to overtime.
The Rams led by three midway through overtime on a bucket and free throw from Cuff, but a Kwame Lee spin move in the paint pulled the Falcons back within one (61-60). An Armstrong runner on the baseline with 1:01 left in the extra session would put the Falcons back on top for good and his free throw with 20 seconds left sealed the victory.
Armstrong led the Falcons with a game-high 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lee racked up a double double effort of 13 points and 11 boards, while junior Anthony Muccioli chipped in with 12 points.
Junior Tim McCarthy led the Rams with a team-high 15 points including 7-of-10 from the line to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Classmate Joe McCabe chipped in with 11 points on 3-of-8 from long range. Cuff narrowly missed a double double with nine points and 11 boards, while sophomore Daniel Gould added nine points on three threes off the bench.
The Rams are back in action on Tuesday evening when they travel to Bridgewater State University in a MASCAC contest beginning at 7:30 p.m., while the Falcons host MCLA on Tuesday in a MASCAC match-up also slated to tipoff at 7:30 p.m.