Lancers Come Up Short in 67-64 Loss to Framingham State

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team received a double-double from sophomore Tony Alexandre (Hyde Park, Mass.) and held off a second half comeback by the Worcester State University Lancers to secure a 67-64 victory in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at the Athletic Center.    

With the win, the Rams improve to 5-19 on the year and are now 2-9 in the conference, while the Lancers fall to 15-6 overall and move to 7-4 in the MASCAC. Currently, Worcester State is tied with Bridgewater State at third place in the MASCAC standings in terms of postseason positioning.

Alexandre paced the Rams with a team-high 20 points on 9-of-17 from the floor to go along with a game-best 14 boards.  Senior Joe McCabe (Canton, Mass.), who connected on 4-of-6 from behind the arc, finished with 12 points, while classmate Tim McCarthy (Wilmington, Mass.) chipped in with 11.

The Rams opened the game with a 7-0 run capped by a long three from McCabe.  They extended the lead to 14-1 just under six minutes in on another three from McCabe as the Rams rode their hot shooting from long range to a 25-3 lead midway through the half. The Lancers chipped away at the deficit with a run of their own highlighted by a three point play from junior Ryan DiBernardo (Springfield, Mass.) and a pair of deep threes from classmate Bilal Shakir (Worcester, Mass.) to close the gap to seven (33-26).  A McCabe three in the closing seconds sent the Rams to the locker room leading 36-26.  The Rams connected on 7-of-14 from behind the arc in the opening stanza.

The Rams opened the second half with a mini run capped by a bucket in the paint from Alexandre to take a 45-30 advantage. Worcester responded with a 20-5 run over the next nine minutes to tie the game at 50-50.  The run included a pair of threes from freshman Alex Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) as well as five points from Bilal including a pair of free throws that tied the score.  The Rams countered with a 7-0 run to retake the lead for good.  The run featured a banked in three from near midcourt as the shot clock expired from senior Jacek Louisville (Worcester, Mass.). 

Worcester State cut the lead down to two on a pair off occasions including with 1:25 remaining on a pair of Shakir freebies.  Marquez McKreith-Collins (Springfield, Mass.) sank one of two from the line with 40 seconds remaining to pull the Lancers within one.  The Rams could not connect on the ensuing possession giving Worcester a chance to take the lead.  The Lancers called timeout with 13.2 on the clock, but turned the ball over without getting a shot off and Ben Roache (Dighton, Mass.) sank two free throws to seal the win for the Rams.

The Lancers were led by a game-high 24 points from Shakir who connected on 12-of-13 from the line in the game.  Santos recorded 15 points off the bench in just a half of action, while junior Paul Brooks (Arlington, Mass.) added 10 and eight rebounds.

The Rams finished the game shooting 44% from behind the arc connecting on 11-of-25, while the Lancers shot just 34% from the floor in the game.

Both teams close out the regular season with MASCAC games on Saturday afternoon with the Rams hosting Fitchburg State at 3 p.m. and the Lancers hosting Westfield State at WPI at 3 p.m. 

Release Courtesy of Framingham State Sports Information