Falcons Fly Past Owls, 65-63

Doss contributes 12 off the bench

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team posted their second consecutive conference victory with a 65-63 win over Westfield State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Tuesday evening at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State University 65, Westfield State 63
Records: Fitchburg State (7-10, 3-2 MASCAC) | Westfield State (8-10, 2-3 MASCAC)

How It Happened

In a first half full of runs, the Falcons held a slim lead (33-28) heading into intermission. Knotted at 10-10, Westfield ran off six consecutive points to take a 16-10 lead with 12:52 to play in the first frame. Fitchburg State countered with a 9-3 run capped by a layup from junior Noah Fleury (Brockton, Mass.) for another deadlock (19-19). The Owls held a 26-23 advantage with 2:23 on the clock, however the hosts answered with a 10-2 run to close out the stanza for the five point advantage. FSU junior Brandon Harris (San Bernardino, Calif.) and sophomore Tyrell St. John (Stamford, Conn.) each potted four points in the run.

The Green and Gold opened the second frame with a try from junior Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind) to extend the lead to 35-28. Westfield would chip away at the lead and eventually even the score (43-43) at the 15:46 mark with a layup from Austin Joseph (Rockland, Mass.). A pair of free-throws from Josh Bosworth (Springfield, Mass.) and a basket from Tracy would push the Falcons to a five point advantage. (50-45).

Westfield answered with a 14-2 run, included 9 points from the hands of junior Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass) to give the Owls a 59-52 lead.  The Falcons would show stingy defense and receive consecutive baskets from St. John, Charles Doss (Fitchburg, Mass) and a deep three-pointer from Joshawa Babb (Lynn, Mass.)  to tie the game again (59-59). Tied 63-63, with 15 seconds to play Babb found an open Tracy under the basket for the game-winning bucket.

Inside the Numbers

St. John finished with a team-high 15 points and 5 rebounds for the Falcons. Tracy chipped in with 14 points and Doss posted 12 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.

Collins led all scorers with 23 points for the Owls, while Joseph added 19 points.

Fitchburg State held the advantage at the charity stripe (60%-58.6%), in field goal percentage (37.5%-35%) and in rebounds (48-40).

Up Next

The Falcons travel to Bridgewater State on Thursday evening for a 7:30 pm tip-off with the Bears.