Fitchburg State Cruises Past New England College, 87-55

Henneberry leads all scorers with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting

FITCHBURG, Mass. (November 15, 2011) – Junior Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) led all scorers with a game-high 25 points as the Fitchburg State men's basketball team opened its 2011-12 season with an 87-55 victory over New England College this evening.

Henneberry led the Falcons 43.0% shooting effort from the floor, hitting 9-of-18 from the field and 7-of-12 from three point range. Junior Brandon Selby (Baltimore, Md./Joppatowne) was also strong on the front court, posting 17 points and five boards in his first game as a Falcon, while classmate Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass./Douglas) turned in a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. 

In the first period, play remained close for the first nine minutes with Fitchburg State holding just a two point lead (15-13), but the Falcons then exploded for a 20-2 run to hold a 35-15 advantage with just under five minutes remaining in the half. Henneberry sparked the Fitchburg State drive with a trio of three-pointers in the series, while junior Adam Fahey (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) also hit from beyond the arc for three of his seven points on the evening.

The Falcons carried their momentum into the second half, opening a 28 point lead by the midway point. Fitchburg State continued to cruise behind the strong shooting of Henneberry, who notched seven points in the half, while Selby and Valliere turned loose with a combined 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Freshman Ryan Schmitz (Redding, Calif./Foothill) led the Pilgrims offensively, totaling a team-best 22 points and five rebounds (7-of-18 FG), while junior Abdirahman Mohamed (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) added 19 points (5-of-18 FG) over 32 minutes played.

For the contest, Fitchburg State shot 43.0% but hit 42.9% (12-of-28) from three point land. The Falcons scored 16 points off turnovers, while posting 14 steals and one block in the game. Despite only shooting 26.2% for the game and 60.0% from the free-throw line (15-of-25), New England College did hit 44.4% (8-of-18) of its shots from three point range.

Fitchburg State (1-0, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Friday as it participates in the Rivier Tip-Off Tournament with a game slated for 6 p.m. New England College (0-1, 0-0 NAC) will host the NEC Tip-Off this coming weekend as the Pilgrims take on SUNY Canton, Friday night at 5 p.m.