Falcons Fall To Engineers In Non-Conference Action

Cambridge, Mass. – The Fitchburg State Men's Basketball team dropped a 92-66 decision to the Engineers of MIT this afternoon in non-conference action from the Rockwell Cage.

The Basics Score: Fitchburg State 66, MIT 92

Fitchburg State (1-8, 0-0 MASCAC) I MIT (6-3, 0-0 NEWMAC)

How It Happened

1st half

MIT raced out to an early 13-1 advantage, capped by an Ian Hinkley (Raleigh, N.C.) three pointer before Fitchburg State cut the lead to 16-9 as junior Javon Taylor (Cambridge, Mass.) and senior Dominik Williams (Newark, N.J.) connected on back-to-back three balls.

The Engineers upped their edge to 28-12 with senior Dan Pilsbury (Millington, N.J.) netting a pair of bucket, but the Falcons answered with baskets from senior Larry Mendes (Brockton, Mass.) and junior Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.) to make the score 31-17.

The Green and Gold continued to chip away at the lead when junior Brandon Dion (Clinton, Mass.) and sophomore Kerns Monvilus (Coral Springs, Fla.) to reduce the lead to 41-26. MIT took a 48-32 lead into the break though with junior Alex Cho (San Diego, Calif.) sinking a pair of the free-throw line.

2nd Half

Following the intermission, MIT went on a 10-0 run to start the second half, polished off by a Cho layup for the 58-32 lead, but Fitchburg State countered with a pair from the charity stripe by Mendes (58-36). The Engineers upped their advantage (72-43) as Julian Manyika (San Francisco, Calif.) connected on a three-pointer, but the Falcons responded with their own three-pointer from sophomore Nathaniel Semedo (Bridgewater, Mass.) to make the score 76-48.

The Green and Gold trimmed the lead to 87-60 with layups from Monvilus and sophomore Trevian Hinson (Tampa, Fla.) but the hosts secured the victory as Hinkley buried a three ball, resulting in the 92-66 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Falcons were led freshman Frederick Siayor (Worcester, Mass.) with a team-best 11 points, one board and one block
• Monvilus added 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal
• For the Engineers, Hinkley finished with a game-leading 24 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three blocks
• Pilsbury chipped in with 16 points, five caroms, eight assists and three steals
• 7th meeting between the two teams on the hardwood with the Falcons 0-7 all-time against the Engineers
• Fitchburg State shot 22-for-58 (37.9%) from the field and (8-of-17) 47.1% from three point range
• MIT finished 35-of-56 (53.0%) overall and (15-for-36) 41.7% for beyond the arc
• Engineers held a 39-32 margin in rebounds

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Wednesday as they host the Spartans of Castleton University in non-conference action, starting at 6:00 PM. Engineers will visit Emmanuel College on Tuesday for a non-conference matchup at 7:30 PM.