Fitchburg State Edges UMass Boston, 76-73 (OT)

Ingram-Rubin lift Falcons to third victory of the season with a 24 point effort

FITCHBURG, Mass. (November 20, 2012) – The Fitchburg State men's basketball team pulled off a thrilling victory this evening, improving to 3-0 on the season with a 76-73 overtime win over the visiting Beacons of UMass Boston.

Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch sealed the victory for the Falcons as two sets of free-throws from senior Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) and junior Mike Ingram-Rubin (Boston, Mass./Bedford) proved to be the difference maker. The Falcons trailed by as many as three within the overtime frame, including 73-70 following a three-pointer from Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) at the 3:51 mark, but a good jumper by senior Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) with 3:02 remaining and four consecutive free-throws from the Falcons clinched their third consecutive win.

Fitchburg State trailed by four at the break (35-31), but the Falcons opened the second period with a 12-4 run, sparked by a three from Brandon Selby (Baltimore, Md./Joppatowne) at the 15:32 mark. The Green and Gold grabbed their biggest lead of the evening (56-49) capped by a three point effort from Matthew Richardson (Methuen, Mass./Methuen), but the Beacons battled back with a 9-2 run to knot the score at 58-58.

UMass Boston continued its offensive momentum to post a 65-60 margin with 4:32 remaining, but the Falcons answered again with six straight points from Ingram-Rubin to inch within one (67-66). Down the other end of the court, Brian Clarke (Miramar, Fla./Everglades) gave the Beacons a two point cushion, hitting 1-of-2 on a one-and-one bonus attempt, but another jumper by Ingram Rubin with just 0:47 left in regulation lifted the Falcons into the five minute extra frame.

Ingram-Rubin led all scorers, totaling a game-high 24 points with 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line. Selby also notched double-figures with 14 points for the Falcons, while Joseph finished with a team-best 21 points for the Beacons.

For the contest, Fitchburg State shot well from the line, hitting 20-of-29 attempts from the charity stripe, while also hitting on 31.7% from the field. UMass Boston controlled the glass with a 57-55 advantage, while shooting 29-of-77 throughout the game, including 8-of-24 from beyond the arc.

Fitchburg State (3-0, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Monday night as it hosts Nichols College at 5:30 p.m. UMass Boston (1-2, 0-0 LEC) will visit Wheelock College next Thursday at 7 p.m.