Falcons Drop 101-76 Decision To Owls

Keene, N.H. – The Fitchburg State Men's Basketball team fell to the Owls of Keene State University, 101-76 this afternoon in non-conference action from the Spaulding Gymnasium.

The Basics Score: Fitchburg State 76, Keene State 101

Fitchburg State (1-3, 0-0 MASCAC) I Keene State (2-0, 0-0 LEC)

How It Happened

1st half

Keene State jumped out to a 6-2 edge to open the first half on a layup from Jeff Hunter (Hudson, Mass.) before Fitchburg State answered as sophomore Javon Taylor (Cambridge, Mass.) sank a pair of free throws (6-4). The Owls extended its margin to 14-7 with a layup by James Anozie (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).

Keene State pushed its lead to 31-22 when Hunter connected on a bucket, but the Falcons trimmed the deficit to 39-30 as freshman Nathaniel Semedo (Bridgewater, Mass.) hit a layup. The Green and Gold continued to battle in the half with sophomore Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.) and classmate Kerns Monvilus (Coral Springs, Fla.) notched bucket before the Owls took a 54-35 edge into the break on a Octavio Brito (Lincoln, R.I.) basket.

2nd Half

Following the intermission, Keene State upped its lead to 68-37 as junior Jeric Cichon (Springfield, Mass.) netted a layup before Fitchburg State responded with a jumper from Q. Taylor (77-40). The two teams traded baskets midway through the second half with junior Brendan Dion (Boston, Mass.) knocking down a three ball for the Falcons, while Tyler Dill (Narragansett, Mass.) hit the bucket for the Owls to make the score 85-46.

Junior Jalen Morgan (Lawrenceville, Ga.) cut the lead to 88-55 with dunk for Fitchburg State, but the Owls responded with a Patrick Freeman (Southborough, Mass.) basket. Trailing 96-62, the Falcons went on an 11-0 run with senior Larry Mendes (Brockton, Mass.) leading the charge with six points, while junior Mikal Garcia (Fresno, Tex.) and freshman Malaki Brown (Worcester, Mass.) added two points each. The Owls would secure the victory however and freshman LJ Hicks (Gardner, Mass.) knocked down a pair from the charity stripe, resulting in the 101-76 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Falcons were led by Morgan with a team-best 13 points, one rebound and one assist
• J. Taylor added 13 points, five caroms, one assist and four steals for the Green and Gold
• For the Owls, sophomore Mason Jean Baptiste (Lynn, Mass.) finished with a game-best 24 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal
• Hunter chipped in with 16 points, six caroms, one assist, one steal and one block
• 23rd meeting between Fitchburg State and Keene State on the court with the Falcons 11-12 all-time vs. the Owls

Fitchburg State shot 26-for-60 (43.3%) from the field and (3-of-17) 17.6% from three point range

• Keene State finished 40-of-76 (52.6%) overall and (11-for-29) 37.9% for beyond the arc
• Owls held a 36-29 margin in rebounds

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Tuesday as they host the Anchormen of Rhode Island College in non-conference action, starting at 6:00 PM. Owls will travel to Middlebury on same date to take on the Panthers in a non-conference tilt at 7:00 PM.