Rams Outlast Falcons in MASCAC Tilt

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team dropped a 68-60 decision to the Rams of Framingham State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action tonight from the Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 60, Framingham State 68
Records: Fitchburg State (4-13, 2-4 MASCAC) | Framingham State (3-15, 1-5 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Framingham State raced out to a 9-3 lead with a layup from JD Okafor (Boston, Mass.) and a tip-in from Jahden Erold (Boston, Mass.) before the Falcons responded with buckets from senior Larry Mendes (Brockton, Mass.) and Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.). Trailing 17-15, Falcons junior Darian Norwood (San Diego, Calif.) hit a pair of baskets and sophomore Trevian Hinson (Tampa, Fla.) added four points to rally the Green and Gold to a 23-19 advantage. The Rams counted with a three-point play from freshman Brett Okundaye (Boston, Mass.) but the Falcons finished the frame with a pair of free-throws from Hinson to hold a 30-27 lead heading into intermission.

With the score tied 31-31, newcomer Dayne Allen (Revere, Mass.) hit a jumper for the Falcons, while Erold answered for the Rams with a layup as the 30-second clock expired to keep the game even. The Falcons would forge ahead 41-39 with a basket from Quincy Taylor and the visitors would counter with a free-throw from Keith Hollman (Cambridge, Mass) and a jumper from Javaris Hill (Lynn, Mass.) to take the 42-41 lead midway through the second half.

Hinson would hit a jumper from the baseline to keep the game close (49-47), however, a dunk from Okafor extended the lead back to four (51-47) for the Rams, with under seven minutes to play. With 3:52 to play Allen put back an offensive rebound to cut the advantage for the Rams to 55-53. The Rams would push the lead to 59-54 on a basket from Okafor at the 2-minute mark and capped the win with a trey from Ivan Nyantenji (Nashua, NH). 

Inside the Numbers

• Fitchburg State was led by Nathaniel Semedo (Bridgewater, Mass.) with a team-leading 14 points while Quincy Taylor added 4 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.  
• Okafor led the Rams with 20 points and 7 rebounds, while Okundaye added 13 points off the bench
• Fitchburg State went 25-for-59 (42.4%) overall and (1-for-17) 5.9% from three-point range.
• Framingham shot 26-for-55 (47.3%) from the field and (3-for-9) 33.3% from beyond the arc.
• Fitchburg held the 45-31 advantage on the boards 

 UP NEXT

The Falcons will host MCLA on Wednesday for a MASCAC match-up starting at 7:00 PM.