Fitchburg State Pulls Away from Westfield State, 84-67, to Sweep Season Series

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's basketball team completed a season sweep of Westfield State, capturing an 84-67 MASCAC victory on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons improved to 12-8 overall and 5-2 in league play. The Owls fell to 8-11 overall and 3-4 in MASCAC action.

Fitchburg State built an early 14-10 lead after back-to-back layups by senior Givaughn Jones. Westfield State proceeded to go on a 10-0 run, capped off by a layup from Shane Pasquantonio at 10:55 of the first half. But six minutes later, the Green and Gold pulled even at 27-27 on a fast break layup by junior Jaleel Bell, then moments later took the lead for good at 4:26 on a made layup by junior Jalen Williams.

After a Bell layup at 2:02 gave the Falcons a seven-point advantage (37-30), the visitors would settle for a five-point edge, 39-34, at halftime.

Fitchburg State opened the second half on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 48-34. Senior Kwame Lee, junior Leonny Burgos, Jones and Bell all contributed to the run before the Owls' Pasquantonio stopped the streak at 17:15 with a made shot from the charity stripe.

Two minutes later, the lead grew to as many as 19 (54-35) as Jones continued his hot shooting. Westfield's Tchuijo Nkamebo pulled the hosts to within 12 points at 7:51 with a layup and a foul shot, but the Green and Gold continued to pull away. With 1:34 remaining, the visitors' advantage grew to 20 (84-64) on a pair of free throws by freshman Aseim King.

The Green and Gold shot 32-61 (52.5%) from the field while knocking down 6-of-13 (46.2%) from beyond the arc. Westfield State went 23-51 (45.1%) shooting overall while hitting 2-7 (28.6%) from long distance. The Owls held a slight edge in total rebounds, 34-33.

The Falcons had four players in double figures: Bell (17), Burgos (16), Jones (14) and sophomore Josh Bosworth (10). Bosworth also paced the team with nine boards.

Nkamebo led the Owls with 16 points, followed by Pasquantonio with 12 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

Fitchburg State resumes play next Saturday when it travels to conference opponent Bridgewater State University for a 3:00 p.m. contest. Westfield State returns to action next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., visiting MASCAC foe MCLA.