Falcons Nipped By Bears, 95-90

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team fell 95-90 to the Bears of Bridgewater State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Thursday night at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State University 90, Bridgewater State University 95
Records: Fitchburg State (8-10, 4-2 MASCAC) | Bridgewater State (5-13, 3-3 MASCAC)

How It Happened

The Falcons sprinted out to a 8-2 lead culminating with a jumper from the elbow from junior Charles Doss (Fitchburg, Mass.), however the Bears battled back and took the lead 14-8 after a 12-0 run finished off with a Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) trey from the baseline.

 Following a timeout the Falcons knotted the score 14-all with four points from senior Jonathan Perez (Lowell, Mass.).  Bridgewater went on an 8-0 tear with baskets from Nick Crocker (East Falmouth, Mass.), Admar Jaramillo (Brockton, Mass.), Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.) and Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, NC) to extend the lead to 22-14 midway through the first half.

Once again the Falcons withstood the pressure and junior Nick Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.) notched six straight points for the hosts to cut the deficit to 24-22. Bridgewater State with eight points from St. Louis and four points from Ward pushed the lead to 41-28 at intermission.

Trailing by 10 points (47-37) in the second half, five straight points from junior Andre Ruff (Chicago, Ill) made it 47-42 at the 16:10 mark. Layups from Jaramillo and Crocker pushed the BSU lead to 59-47.

With 8:56 remaining, Fitchburg State's Tracy connected from the elbow and Ruff hit one from the charity stripe to trail 65-61.  Bridgewater extended the lead to 82-70 when St. Louis hit deep from beyond the arc with two minutes to play. Fitchburg State made is close late when freshman Tayjaun McKenzie (Lynn, Mass.) and Perez poured in four late three-pointers for the Falcons en route to the 95-90 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Falcons were led by Tracy with a game-best 29 points and four rebounds
• Ruff added 16  points and six assists for Fitchburg State
• St. Louis registered a team-leading 25 points and six caroms for the Bears
• Carney chipped in with 21 points and nine assists for Bridgewater State
• 98th meeting between two schools with Falcons 29-69 all-time vs the Bears
• Fitchburg State shot 34-for-75 (45.3%) from the field and (13-for-33) 39.4% from three point land
• Bridgewater State finished 35-of-58 (60.3%) overall and (11-for-17) 64.7% from beyond the arc
• Bridgewater State held a 41-27 margin on the glass
• Falcons finished with a 23-6 edge in bench points

Up Next

Falcons will host the Rams of Framingham State University on Saturday for a MASCAC clash, starting at 12:00 PM. Bears will host the Trailblazers of MCLA on Wednesday for a conference tilt at 5:30 PM.