Fitchburg State Edged by Worcester State, 73-71

FITCHBURG, Mass. - Fitchburg State University was edged by Worcester State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball nail-biter, 73-71, at the Parkinson Gymnasium in Sterling Cup action.
 
Ryan DiBernardo finished the game with the go-ahead basket with three minutes reamining. DiBernardo also had a game-high 20 points to go along with his eight rebounds, and Paul Brooks ended with a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds for Worcester State.

Senior forward Kwame Lee picked up a double-double with a team-high 19 points and 16 rebounds. Jaleel Bell and senior wing Givaughn Jones contributed 17 and 10 points, respectively, for Fitchburg State.
 
In the early action the two teams exchanged baskets on the game's first seven possessions as Brooks scored the first two of the game for Worcester State before Jones answered on the other end of the floor for Fitchburg State.
 
With 17:02 on the clock, the Falcons went out on their first scoring run, a 10-2 drive lasting over two minutes as the Falcons were able to gain a slight lead following a three-ball from Bell and a pair of shots from the floor for Lee (14-8).
 
The Lancers quickly responded when junior guard Bilal Shakir sandwiched a DiBernardo lay-up between two three-balls to spark a 12-6 run for Worcester State midway through the first half (21-17).
 
After Fitchburg gained some momentum from a successful and-one by Jones the Falcons got out on a 13-5 run highlighted by triples from Anthony Muccioli and Lee to gain their largest lead of the opening frame, a nine-point advantage with five minutes left in the half (34-25).
 
The first half ended with the teams exchanging yet again before time expired with the Falcons holding onto their lead heading into the locker room (40-35).
 
Following the intermission, the tightly-contested battle continued with the hosts maintaining their lead. The MASCAC foes traded blows over a 10-minute span with each team's big men getting into the action, as Brooks and Lee battled one another in the paint scoring eight and six points respectively during that stretch (59-52).
 
Leading by just two with 8:02 remaining in the game, the Green and Gold upped their margin when Bell drove into the lane converting his lay-up and pushing the lead to four before the Lancers came within a single point after Shakir nailed five-straight from the charity stripe.
 
Worcester State gained the lead with 4:04 remaining, its first since the eight-minute mark of the first half, when Brooks cleaned up a rebound emphatically with a put-back slam putting his team up by one (66-65).
 
With the hosts down three, Fitchburg State took advantage of a late-turnover when Leonny Burgos maneuvered past his defender to finesse a finger-roll with 35.6 seconds left.
 
Following a 1-for-2 stint at the stripe from DiBernardo, the Falcons had a chance to tie the game down two, but with five seconds left Jones lost control of the ball and the clock expired without a shot, resulting in 73-71 final.
 
Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State shot 28-for-73 (38.4%) from the field while knocking down 6-of-12 (50.0%) from three. Worcester State went 27-for-75 shooting (36.0%) and hit 5-of-23 from beyond the arc (21.7%)
 
The hustle play was controlled by Fitchburg State finishing the game 19 second-chance points and 14 points off turnovers to go along with 11 takeaways on the defensive side.  
 
The Lancers controlled the offensive glass 22-17 during the game and led in defensive caroms 30-29 while winning the overall rebounding battle, 52-46.
 
The game featured 3 ties and 10 lead changes.
 
Fitchburg State (13-9, 6-3 MASCAC) return to its home hardwood on Saturday February 13th for a conference bout with MCLA to start at 3 P.M.
 
Worcester State (15-7, 7-2 MASCAC) travels to Bridgewater State on the same day for a game with MASCAC playoff implications starting at 3 P.M.

Release courtesy of Fitchburg State student journalist Kyle Prudhomme