Falcons Downed by Bridgewater State, 81-72

Fitchburg, Mass. - The Fitchburg State Men's Basketball team dropped a 81-72 decision to the Bears of Bridgewater State this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 72, Bridgewater State 81
Records: Fitchburg State (7-10, 1-3 MASCAC) | Bridgewater State (5-11, 2-2 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Falcon's junior Anthony Diaz (Hampshire, Penn.) broke an 8-8 stalemate with a bucket at the 12:26 mark, then the Bears countered with a trey from senior Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.) and a jumper from Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) to re-take the lead 15-12. The Falcons forged ahead 16-15 with a pair from the charity strip from Diaz and a jumper from senior Jordan Jones (Worcester, Mass.). The Bears broke the game open with a 7-0 run capped by a Stanley Pierre-Louis (Roxbury, Mass.) score for a 26-18 advantage. The Green and Gold cut the deficit to four points (26-22) with buckets from freshman Keegan Sharp (Townsend, Mass.) and Charles Doss (Fitchburg, Mass.) however the Bears closed out the first half with a 14-8 run to hold a 40-30 intermission lead.

The Falcons opened the second half with a jump shot from Sharp, while the Bears countered with two free-throws from Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, NC) and a layup from St. Louis to extend the lead to 44-32. The Green and Gold answered with five straight points to cut the lead to 44-37. Bridgewater answered with a three-point play from Ward to push the score to (50-39).

Trailing 65-56, following a timeout Diaz sank a pair of free throws and made a defensive steal that led to a three point play from freshman Xavier Betancourt (Tampa, Fla.) to make it a 65-60 game. Next the visitors reeled of nine straight to hold a 74-60 lead after a 3-pointer from St. Louis with less than five minutes to play. One last push from Fitchburg notched the score at 74-67 included four points from Betancourt, but seven points from the free-throw line for the Bears sealed the 81-72 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Fitchburg State was led by Betancourt with a team-leading 14 points, three rebounds and five assists, while Sharp and Diaz each added 12 points.
• The Bears were paced by St. Louis game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Ward chipped in a double-double with 23 point and 10 boards.
• Fitchburg State went 30-for-63 (47.6%) overall and (1-for-18) 5.9% from three point range.
• Bridgewater shot 30-for-66 (45.5%) from the field and (7-of-23) 30.4% from beyond the arc.
• The Bears held a 41-32 edge on the glass.

Up Next

The Falcons host the Lancers of Worcester State on Saturday afternoon with a 12:00 PM tip-off. The Bears will host the Rams of Framingham State on the same day with a 1:00 PM start.