Fitchburg State Drops 84-59 Decision To MIT
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (5-7) | 29 | 30 | 59 |
|
MIT (10-3) | 46 | 38 | 84 |
Bell nets 13 points for Falcons in non-conference setback
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's basketball team was in action this evening, suffering a tough 84-59 setback to the Engineers of MIT in non-conference action inside the Rockwood Cage.
MIT opened the contest on a 12-0 run to start the contest as junior Spencer Rust registered eight of the Engineers 12 points, while sophomore Dakota Pierce added a trio of free-throws. Fitchburg State countered with a three ball from senior Jaleel Bell and layup by classmate Jalen Williams to cut the lead to 14-5.
The Falcons continued to battle later in the half, going on a 9-2 stretch with buckets from Bell, seniors Lance Hill and Leonny Burgos and junior Josh Bosworth. (22-14).The hosts answered back with an 12-2 run with just over eight minute remaining in the half as sophomore Cameron Korb connected on a pair of trey's, while sophomore AJ Jurko, senior Tim Butala and sophomore Samuel Bockman scored two points each to extend the Engineers lead to 46-29 going into the intermission.
Following the break, MIT extended its lead (63-37) with Korb igniting the Engineers offense with a pair of three-pointers and a free-throw, while sophomore Tim Roberts converted a three-point play for the hosts.
The Green and Gold chipped away at the lead midway through the stanza as Hill, junior Mustapha Koroma and classmate Chima Ebele combined to sink six shots from the charity stripe, but MIT put the game out of reach on a Pierce layup with four minutes left in the contest, resulting in the 84-59 final.
Bell led the way for the Falcons with a team-best 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Ebele added 11 points, five boards, one steal and one block for Fitchburg State. For the Engineers, Korb netted a game-best 23 points, two boards, two assists and three steals, while Rust chipped in with 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State shot 21-for-52 (40.4%) from the field and (2-of-5) 40.0% from beyond the arc, while MIT finished 28-of-50 (56.0%) overall and (8-for-20) 40.0% from long range.
Fitchburg State (5-7, 0-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Wednesday as it travels to Bridgewater State to take on the Bears at 5:30 p.m. MIT (10-3, 2-0 NEWMAC) will visit the Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday for a contest starting at 7 p.m.