Fitchburg State Drops Heartbreaker to Keene State 87-86

Four players score in double figures for the Falcons in non-conference setback

FITCHBURG, Mass. (January 15, 2015) – Fitchburg State suffered their first loss in 2015, as they fell 87-86 to the Owls of Keene State in an exciting non-conference matchup at the Recreation Center on the campus of FSU this evening.

Both teams came out strong from the opening tip, with each team shooting over 40% from the field in the first half. Keene State opened the scoring with a Dizel Wright layup four seconds into the contest, springing them to an early 15-8 lead. The Falcons were able to answer with a 13-0 run to make the score 21-15, with Keyon Armstrong closing the run with two of his 12 first half points.

The visitors regained the momentum with Tom Doyle and Nate Howard leading the charge for the Owls, combining for 26 points in the opening stanza as Keene State would enter intermission with a six point advantage (42-36).

Keene State opened the second half, pushing the lead to eight, before the Falcons began chipping away at the deficit, tying the game at 51-51 with 14:18 left in the contest behind an Armstrong three pointer.

Trailing by as many as eight points, The Green and Gold set out on the comeback trail, with Juan Lopez setting the stage for a furious finish with a game tying three with 14.8 seconds remaining before the Owls responded, as Howard completed a three point play, following a breakaway dunk to give the Owls an 84-81 lead with 9.2 ticks left in the contest.

The Falcons comeback bid came up one point short, with Leonny Burgos closing the game with a 50 foot buzzer beater resulting in the 87-86 final.

Armstrong would lead all Falcon scorers with 18 points; while juniors Givaughn Jones (16 points), Anthony Muccioli (15 points), and Kwame Lee (14 points) all reached double figures as well. Doyle led the Owls offense with a game high 33 points, while Howard added a double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds.

For the contest, Fitchburg State shot 44.9% from the field, while making half of their 20 three-point attempts. On the other end, Keene State shot 42.2% overall and went 6 of 16 from beyond the arc, while converting 27 their 33 attempts from the charity stripe (81.8%).

Fitchburg State (11-4, 3-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it hosts the Bears of Bridgewater State for a contest starting at 7:30 p.m.  Keene State (11-2, 3-1 LEC) returns to the court on Saturday as it hosts UMass Dartmouth at 3 p.m.