Falcons Fly Past Hawks

Tracy notches team high 17 points

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team scored a 73-67 win over the visiting Hawks of Becker College in a non-conference match-up tonight at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 73, Becker Hawks 67
Records: Fitchburg State (5-2) | Becker Hawks (3-5)

How It Happened

Becker opened the contest with a 12-8 lead sparked by a deep three-pointer from sophomore Mekhi Chester (East Orange, NJ). The Falcons evened the game at 14-14 with a freebie from the charity stripe, then went on a 6-0 run with four points from senior Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.) to hold a 20-14 lead midway through the first half. The Hawks countered with a 7-point streak to take a 21-20 lead when Chester hit a jumper from the top of the key.

Knotted at 23-23 with six minutes to play in the first frame the Falcons took a 30-25 lead on a Becker turnover and Devon Johnson (Washington, DC) basket. Freshman Xavier Betancourt (Tampa, Fla.) poured in a pair of treys for the Falcons and junior Guney Kilitcioglu (Istanbul, Turley) had a layin at the buzzer for the Hawks to tie the game 35-35 at intermission.

With 15:36 to play in the second half and the score 42-42, Betancourt converted a three-pointer and senior Tyrell St. John (Stamford, Conn.) added a jumper to give the Green and Gold a lead (47-42) they would never relinquish. Fitchburg's lead hit double-digits (60-50) when senior Charles Doss (Fitchburg, Mass.) put back an offensive rebound. Becker's Jordan Rose-Wheatley (New Bedford, Mass.) cut the deficit in half with a layup with 1:42 to play however Tracy hit three clutch free-throws down the stretch securing the victory.

Inside the Numbers

• Fitchburg State was led by Tracy with a team-leading 17 points, while Betancourt added 12 points off the bench.
• The Haws were paced by junior Mateus Ribeiro (San Paulo, Brazil) game high 20 points.
• Fitchburg State went 27-for-65 (41.5%) overall and (8-for-21) 38.1% from three point range.
• Becker shot 27-for-58 (46.6%) from the field and (6-of-25) 40% from beyond the arc.
• The Falcons held a 40-38 edge on the glass.

 UP NEXT

The Falcons will travel to the Engineers of WPI on Saturday afternoon for a non-conference tilt starting at 3:00 PM. Becker will next play on December 3^rd when they host Clark University at 6:00 PM.