Fitchburg State Uses Big Second Half to Dispatch Framingham State, 77-60

FITCHBURG, Mass. - Fitchburg State's 48 second half points jolted the Falcons past Framingham State by the final score of 77-60 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory at the Parkinson Gymnasium at the Rec Center.
 
The Green and Gold were sparked by their starters as four of the starting five finished the game in double digits and sophomore forward Josh Bosworth leading the way with a game-high 20 points in the win.
 
For Framingham State, Joshua McCabe had a team-high 12 points in 3-of-6 shooting during 22 minutes played.
 
Fitchburg State opened the contest in explosive fashion as Leonny Burgos found Kwame Lee in the paint as the senior flushed home a slam dunk for the first two points of the game.
 
Following the dunk, the Falcons would go onto score in their next two offensive possessions before the visiting Rams got on the board, due in part to Joseph McCabe's five points on his first two shots of the half.
 
Framingham State grabbed its first lead (12-10) of the opening frame when senior Tim McCarthy buried his first from beyond the arc, but the Green and Gold instantly responded as Tysaul Horton would knock down two from the charity stripe to tie before Lee added a pair himself, regaining the lead for the home team.
 
With 9:52 remaining in the first half the visiting Rams broke off a 13-5 scoring run separating themselves from the hosts by opening their largest lead of the contest at five.
 
The two teams continued to battle it out during the five minutes prior to intermission with Framingham notching a 10-8 run and taking a four-point advantage (33-29) into the locker room.
 
Just minutes into the second half, Fitchburg State took control the scoreboard when Bosworth made a lay-up in the paint gaining the lead 33-32. The Falcons would never trail again.
 
Over the next four minutes the hosts scored 12 unanswered enjoying a 13-point lead with just over 13 minutes left in the game.
 
Framingham State got some momentum after converting 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and reducing the deficit to 11 before the hosts pulled away for good, pushing their advantage to a game-high 21 points on a drive to the rim by Jaleel Bell, his last two points of his game total of 11.
 
The Green and Gold were able to slow the tempo, using up the remaining time to coast to the 77-60 victory.
 
Fitchburg State outshot their season averages in the win, going 30-of-53 (56.6%) from the floor and knocking down 16-of-21 (72.7%) from the charity stripe.

Framingham State finished the contest 16-of-48 from the floor (33.3%) while knocking down 21-of-27 (77.8%) from the free-throw line.
 
The Falcons controlled the battle on the glass corralling 34 total rebounds (28 defensive) to the Rams 28 total boards (21 defensive).
 
The two teams were closely matched in the hustle stats as Framingham got 14 total points from turnovers and six points from second chance opportunities; Fitchburg State finished with 16 points from takeaways and eight points on the extra chance.

Both teams return to MASCAC action on Saturday at 3:00 p.m., with Fitchburg State (11-8, 4-2 MASCAC) traveling to Westfield State and Framingham State (4-14, 1-5 MASCAC) hosting Salem State.

Recap courtesy of Fitchburg State student journalist Kyle Prudhomme