Falcons Soar Past Spartans, 73-65

Jimenez-Fox registers double-double

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team concluded the first semester with a 73-65 victory over the Spartans of Castleton University in non-conference action this evening at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 73, Castleton 65
Records: Fitchburg State (3-8, 0-0 MASCAC) | Castleton (3-6, 0-3 LEC)

How It Happened

Falcon's junior guard Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.) notched five of the first seven point for the Falcons as the hosts opened up a quiet 7-2 lead. The Spartans responded with a 9-4 run to even the game (11-11) when sophomore Eric Shaw (Sutter Creek, Calif) drained a trey from the baseline.

Knotted 15-15, the Green and Gold ran off seven unanswered points with baskets from senior Charlie Ollis (Mobile, Ala.), junior Andre Ruff (Chicago, Ill.) and junior Tyrell St. John (Stamford, Conn.) to lead 22-15 midway through the first stanza.

Castleton responded with a 14-6 stretch, culminating with a pair from sophomore Richard Walker (Seanton, Vt.) at the charity strip for their first lead of the night (29-28) with less than three minutes to play. Senior Tank Roberson (Pittsfield, Mass.) added nine points in the run.

Six straight points from junior Kameron Jimenez-Fox (Boston, Mass.) gave the Falcons 34-31 advantage at intermission.

Fitchburg State opened the second half hot with a 12-2 run, a three-point play from Ollis extended the margin to 46-33.

Down 59-49, Castleton hit a pair of three-pointers from Roberson and Casey Belade (Shelton, Conn.) sandwiched around a Jimenez-Fox layup to cut the deficit to six points (61-55). However, senior Jonathan Perez (Lowell, Mass.) hit a coast-to-coast uncontested layup with 4:54 remaining and notched 6 points in the final minutes to seal the victory for the Falcons.

Inside the Numbers

• Fitchburg State was led by Jimenez-Fox's double-double, a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Ollis added 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench
• For Castleton, Roberson registered a team-best 25 points, while Walker chipped in with 15 points and seven caroms.
• Fitchburg State shot 28-for-69 (40.6%) from the field and (15-of-24) 62.5% from the charity strip.
• Castleton went 25-of-62 (40.3%) overall and (10-of-14) 71.4% from the free-throw line.
• The Falcons finished with a commanding 51-33 advantage on the glass.
• This evening's contest marked the tenth meeting between the two squads on the basketball court with the Falcons currently 5-4 all-time when taking on the Spartans
• First meeting between the two teams since 1972 where the Spartans registered a 94-89 victory at the Old Parkinson Gymnasium

Up Next

Falcons will enjoy the holiday break and return to action on January 2^nd when they travel to Regis College for a 6:00 pm non-conference match-up with the Pride,  while Castleton will head to the University of Saint Joseph (CT) to take on Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon for a 2:00 pm tip-off.